THE government expects the construction industry to adopt the Building Information Modelling (BIM) system within the next five years.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said BIM — an intelligent 3D model-based process software — can assist the construction sector to be more sustainable in the long run.
The ministry — through the Public Works Department (JKR) Strategic Plan 2021-2025 — has set the adoption of the mechanism to reach 50% next year and 80% by 2025.
“With BIM, we can utilise the developed data to be used not only in the planning and design stage, but also the implementation phase when the construction is ongoing.
“Additionally, when this project life reaches its end, we can be prepared and ensure the demolish process and waste management are carried out according to best practices.
“It also can be used for project maintenance. So, it is a system that can be utilised in the whole life cycle,” he said, after launching the five-year strategic plan in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
Fadillah said as a start, the ministry will ensure 50% of the projects worth RM10 million and above will use the BIM mechanism, with a 10% increase rate in the subsequent years before 2025.
Currently, less than half of the construction projects in the country are using the BIM system.
Last year, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) recommended the mandatory use of BIM in certain private sector projects by 2020 to encourage digital adoption by industry players.
According to CIDB, only a few large companies were using BIM, while in the public sector, projects costing RM100 million and above were obliged to use the BIM system starting last year.
In the five-year plan, Fadillah said JKR also aims for 100% of projects worth RM10 million and above to obtain the Industrial Building System (IBS) score over 70%.
A higher IBS score reflects a reduced site labour, lower wastage, less site materials, a cleaner environment, better quality, a neater and safer construction site, faster project completion and lower total construction costs.
Separately, Fadillah said the ministry is still waiting for the final report on the incident where a parapet wall slab fell on a car along the Middle Ring Road 2 in Kuala Lumpur (KL).
He said three different entities under three ministries are still deliberating the reports of the incidents.
“We need to identify which law would be used because it is being probed under three different authorities,” he said.
On another development, Fadillah, who is also Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) senior VP, said his party and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) have no plan to rejoin the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition.
Fadillah said PBB will remain with GPS — a coalition established after the 14th General Election (GE14) by four former BN components.
He said, however, the state-based alliance will work closely with the federal-led Perikatan Nasional (PN) and BN components to safeguard Sarawak’s interest.
“Since we left BN, we have been friendly with the federal government. So, now we also work closely with PN components ie Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and PAS, and are on good terms with Umno and other BN components.
“We want to focus on the Sarawak agenda, on state developments and its rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963 (MA63). So, we can work with anyone,” he told the press in KL yesterday.
Fadillah was responding to the question of whether GPS and PBB would consider going back to BN, which they abandoned after the latter’s historic GE14 loss.
The Sarawak state assembly will need a fresh election latest by September next year, as the 11th legislative assembly term will come to an end by June.
Eighty-two seats are expected to be contested, which is traditionally held before elections at the federal level.
Fadillah, who is also the Petra Jaya MP, said there is yet any indication that Sarawak would follow the federal’s move in dissolving the assembly, which would allow both elections to run concurrently.
In April last year, the Pakatan Harapan government failed to get the Dewan Rakyat’s nod for the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2019, which sought to restore the status of Sabah and Sarawak as equal partners with Peninsular Malaysia as enshrined in the MA63.
The amendment, tabled by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, only obtained 138 MP votes, while none voted against, and 59 mainly from BN, abstained from voting.
Constitution amendments need 148 or two-thirds of the 222 total votes in the Lower House.
Sumber: The Malaysian Reserve