Malaysia to learn IBS from China’s builders

Strategic partnership: (Standing from left) Kong and Zuraida looking on as CSCEC assistant general manager Yang Guobao and CRIIC general manager for Malaysia Kisan Lim Kok Seng sign the MoU in Beijing.

MALAYSIA is bringing in Chinese builders to share their expertise in the Industrialised Building System (IBS).

Eight companies signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) for the affordable home projects throughout Malaysia.

They are China Export & Credit Insurance Corporation, Sany Cons­truction Industry, Jiangsu Provincial Construction Group, KAVA Interna­tional Group, China Rainbow Inter­na­tional Investment, Shaanxi Coal & Chemical Industry Construction (Group), China Energy Group and China Railway Engineering Group.

IBS is a technique of construction whereby components are manufactured in a controlled environment, then placed and assembled at the construction sites.

Currently, only about a dozen Malaysian companies are equipped with the technology.

They have a total capacity for constructing about 20,000 homes a year, far lower than the government’s mission of building one million units in a 10-year period under Budget 2019.

Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin has assured Malaysian developers that they would not be deprived of their chances as they, too, would get portions of the projects.

“Local players will benefit in technology transfer,” she said after witnessing the MoU signing bet­ween SPNB and the Chinese companies here on Friday.

Also joining the MoU signing were Malaysia-based Splendid Forte with China Rainbow Interna­tional Investment Co (CRIIC) and China Construction Infrastructure Survey Engineering Design and Cons­truc­tion Group (CSCEC); and PLB Engineering (Malaysia) with China Railway No.3 Engineering Group.

Tan Sri David Kong, the Nirvana Asia founder who also owns Splendid Forte, said the company and its Chinese partner would be developing a new township in Semenyih named Bandar Harapan.

He said 15,000 affordable homes, with a selling price of no more than RM300,000, would be built there using the IBS technology.

“This technology helps to speed up the construction process at a cheaper cost, as some materials could be made on site.

“It is proven to be safe and of good quality. Engineers will put into consideration the humid and hot weather of Malaysia, land structures and other factors,” he said.

Constructing a 100sq m home, for example, would take about nine months using the conventional way but with IBS, the unit could be completed in just two months, said Kong.