Malaysian Economy

CORPORATE VIEWPOINT

Datuk Hamzah Hasan gives his take on the health of the

Malaysian economy

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CORPORATE VIEWPOINT

In the wake of the unprecedented energy price hikes and financial upheaval of 2008 which assumed global proportions, Malaysia has not been spared the resulting turmoil. The domestic building construction industry, for one, has had to contend with escalating increases in the costs of essential building materials, e.g., steel, concrete and sand, for both projects in progress and in the pipeline. In addressing the ensuing economic slowdown, the government has been pro-active in launching a number of initiatives tailored to the building construction industry with the view to energise domestic demand and boost economic growth. In this respect, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) is the principal agency dedicated to the task and B&I talked recently to YB Datuk Hamzah Hasan, Chief Executive Officer of CIDB, for his assessment of the status to date and his take on the remedial measures by the government.

B&I: In June 2008, the industry was finding it hard to manage the business of construction in the face of drastic cost increase in energy and essential building materials. What is the scenario to date, that is, are conditions still tenuous or is there light at the end of the tunnel now with stable energy prices? What are some of the key CIDB programmes planned for 2009? Datuk Hamzah: Following marginal increases for the first half of 2008, June saw a drastic rise in the costs of many building materials as a result of the increase in the price of fuel announced by the government on June 5. The average price of ready mixed concrete increased by 29 per cent, cement by 23 per cent and clay brick by 13 per cent compared to May 2008 for Peninsular Malaysia. For Sabah, the price of sand increased by 34 per cent, steel by 23 per cent and aggregate by 22 per cent. However in Sarawak, the price of aggregate increased by 34 per cent, steel...