BUDGET 2018 : Sufficient manpower needed to complete projects under Budget 2018

PETALING JAYA: The Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) welcomed the government's move in prioritising people-centric projects but is concerned about the demand-supply gap in manpower to complete these projects.
"All the announced infrastructure spending will mean that the construction industry will require enough manpower to complete it on time and on budget. There should be a realistic understanding that construction industry needs workers to fill in the demand-supply gap for manpower in the construction industry," president Foo Chek Lee said in a statement today.
"MBAM hopes that the policy with regards to the employment of workers can be looked at in a holistic manner so that the aspiration of both the public and the private sector can be satisfied," he said.
However, he said MBAM appreciates the increase of budget on the Technical and Vocational Education and Training of RM4.9 billion, which will increase the number of local skilled workers, productivity and reduce the dependency on foreign workers.
Foo said MBAM had hoped to see more reduction of import duties for heavy construction machineries and more incentives in Budget 2018 to be disbursed to industry players who adopt and implement the use of Industrialised Building System (IBS) and Building Information Modelling (BIM) such as equipment tax reduction and tax incentives.
"We believe that mechanisation is a way forward for us to reduce our dependency on the use of foreign labour and to increase productivity and safety in the industry. We hope that the government will support us in our efforts.
"MBAM hopes the government will provide tax investment allowance for new technology and machinery investment to encourage contractors to use new machineries and technologies for the production and installation of IBS components," said Foo.
He said IBS products can reduce the application or usage of building materials that can cause environmental damage and also reduce the dependency of foreign workers.
Meanwhile, BIM is a virtual representation of a building, containing all the information required to construct the building, using computers and software at various stages. However, one of the barriers to implementing BIM is the high cost of the software.
MBAM hopes that the government can provide a subsidy for companies to adopt BIM, which will also help in IBS planning and implementation.
"BIM can also help in complementing the government's initiative to implement Construction Design and Management (CDM) regulations whereby hazard and risk can be controlled from the planning and design stage," said Foo.
The announced infrastructure and allocation of spending which will benefit the construction industry in 2018 include 240,600 units of government housing under various public housing plans; 10,000 units of public housing for police staff; Pan Borneo Highway (RM2 Billion); ECRL Project connecting port Klang to Pengkalan Kubur and MRT2 Project Sungai Buloh Klang and Putrajaya.
In addition, the Central Spine Road Project (RM230 million); upgrade of Pulau Pinang, Langkawi International Airports and upgrade of airports at Sultan Ismail Petra, Mukah and Sandakan; construction of roads in rural areas (RM934 million) and Women and Children Hospital in Putrajaya (RM1 billion) were also announced in Budget 2018.
"We also note the emphasis on sustainable development where there is an allocation of a Green Technology Financing Scheme of RM5 billion and non-revenue water programme to reduce water loss at RM1.4 billion.
"Construction Off-River Storage as alternative water storage with allocation of RM1.3 billion and flood mitigation programme with an allocation