Malaysian Contractors Undertake 690 Projects Worth US$29.90 Billion In 49 Countries

By Kamaliza Kamaruddin KUALA TERENGGANU, April 30 (Bernama) -- A total of 115 contractors from Malaysian construction companies have undertaken 690 projects worth US$29.90 billion (RM90.5 billion) in 49 countries from 2000 till this year. From this, 616 projects worth RM57.7 billion have been successfully completed while another 74 projects worth RM32.8 billion are in the process of construction. Records from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) show that in the last 12 years, many foreign countries especially from the Middle East have had chosen Malaysian construction companies to carry out mega projects in their countries. Chief Executive of CIDB, Dr. Judin Abdul Karim said the body was confident that local construction companies would continue to be a main choice for foreign countries to undertake many more mega projects in their countries with the excellent track records that these companies have set. "CIDB also has undertaken various measures to enhance the work quality of local construction firms so that they would continue to be entrusted with the job of heading many more mega projects in the developing countries. "Among them include signing a Memorandum of Understanding between Malaysian and Asean nations for joint certification in the fields of engineering, architects and surveyors," he told Bernama after the launch of a seminar here today on the transformation of construction laws in Malaysia. The event was attended by 250 participants including contractors, architects and staff from the local authorities in Terengganu. Judin said the success seen by the local contractors overseas have covered various mega and high impact projects like highways, light rail transit system, airports, power stations and other infrastructures. Indeed, a recent government delegation from Kazakhstan had also indicated their interest to seek the assistance of Malaysian contractors to jointly develop various building projects in their country, Judin said. Local contractors should therefore take on these opportunities and show that they are capable of producing work that is on par with international companies from other countries, he said. "Indeed, quality is given the highest priority for each project carried out and that is the major reason for these countries to continue to seek the services of professional Malaysian contractors, apart from the reasonable costs," he said. Among Malaysian construction projects in Arab include the steel structural works for the Burj Al Arab Hotel in Dubai, F1 International Circuit in Bahrain, Khalifa Olympic Stadium, the international airport in Doha and the Dukhan Highway in Qatar. Other notable projects include the Mumbai-Pune expressway in India; Bank Sudan in Khartoum, Sudan and an international airport in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. (US$1 = RM3.02) --BERNAMA