Construction & Real Estate
From The Report: Malaysia 2012
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The construction sector is in the midst of a boom thanks to infrastructure outlays under the 10th Malaysia Plan. The highlight is the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (KVMRT), which includes contracts potentially worth over $20bn through 2018. Other state-driven projects include the Pengerang petrochemical facility, the Tun Razak Exchange and several highways, although the government is promoting a private-sector-driven approach to finance these developments. Infrastructure development, particularly of the KVMRT, will help fuel the real estate market, allowing for affordable housing in Selangor Valley with access to central business districts. Developers are also looking to exploit Iskandar Malaysia’s proximity to the wealthy Singaporean market for property investment.

Articles from this Chapter

Overview

Busy times: Major infrastructure and housing developments drive the sector
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With a number of key infrastructure projects being delivered under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and the real estate market still remaining buoyant, the construction sector in Malaysia is enjoying a relatively busy economic cycle. DRIVERS: New developments in the oil and gas industry, Iskandar Malaysia, and the mass-rapid transit system in Kuala Lumpur (KL), to name just a few projects, are expected to have both immediate and indirect impact on demand for industrial, commercial…

Analysis

City links: The Mass Rapid Transit project will transform urban transport in the Klang Valley
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The biggest infrastructure project to date has kicked off, bringing major contractors a raft of attractive contracts and knock-on developments. With a price of RM50bn-70bn ($16.1bn-22.6bn), the long-overdue Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) encompasses both the greatest ambitions of the government-led economic transformation plans, as well as the political challenges inherent in an initiative this big. PHASES: First up will be the Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line, which will run 51 km through…

Analysis

Looking abroad: Malaysian construction firms seek contracts overseas
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As hot as Malaysia’s local construction market may be over the next several years, it cannot obscure the fact that the country has fewer than 30m people and a modest GDP of $278bn. At the same time, the total value of work done abroad is still dwarfed by the local market, and just a few companies are big enough to do major international jobs. Construction firms have the opportunity to use international work as a capacity-builder, enabling them to do more complex projects in the future, but…

Overview

A development hotspot: Steadily growing housing market offers opportunities for investment
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Long a solid performer, the Malaysia property market has avoided the speculative booms and busts of some regional markets such as Singapore. This is at least partly due to the conservative policies adopted by the central bank and government which seeks to reduce high-risk lending. Major developments in the Klang Valley (KV) and Iskandar Malaysia are giving developers reason to be excited. The next few years could see a transformation of Malaysia’s urban environment, as shifting residential…

Analysis

There’s no place like home: Affordable housing schemes for middle-income buyers
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Amid a constant stream of higher-end housing supply, Malaysia’s middle-class home buyers have often found themselves priced out of the market. “In the Malaysian residential market, there have long been significant offerings in the low-end market, around RM60, 000-RM150,000 ($19,356-48,390), and high-end properties above RM500,000 ($161,300). But affordable options serving the middle classes have been lacking,” Kumar Tharmalingam, the CEO of Malaysia Property, told OBG. Only in the past…

Analysis

Ground rules: Land acquisition issues emerge on the route of the Klang Valley mass transit system
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Decades of urbanisation in the Klang Valley (KV) and across Malaysia have depleted the supply of undeveloped land, which is causing issues for government initiatives that rely upon acquiring land. “There are major public sector projects in the pipeline that will involve significant land acquisitions by the government including the mass rapid transit (MRT), extension of the light-rail transit, East Coast Highway from Kelantan to Terengganu and the railway from Ipoh to Perlis,” Azemi Kasim,…