KUALA LUMPUR: The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), which celebrates its 20th anniversary in November this year, will honour 72 leaders from the construction industry and construction-related government bodies with fellowship awards for their contributions to the industry.
Datuk Seri Ir Judin Abdul Karim, Chief Executive of CIDB, said in a statement today that after many achievements in the last 20 years, CIDB felt that this was the right time to acknowledge the achievements of industry players, especially those who were active in the country’s early development.
“The CIDB’s achievements and milestones over the last 20 years have developed the industry to the point where we are able to undertake projects such as the MRT and infrastructure for the oil and gas sector,” he said.
In recent years, Judin said, Malaysian construction firms had even ventured abroad, with more than RM2 billion in overseas contracts secured in 2013.
“Twenty years is a long time, so the industry has changed a lot.
Maybe we don’t realise it because we are part of it, but people who are from other countries who were here 20 years ago, and coming back 20 years later, would say there has been a lot of change,” he said.
Other events being planned to mark CIDB’s anniversary include the launch of a commemorative coffee table book on the construction sector, several exhibitions relating to construction, and the expansion of CIDB’s Build Brigades to incorporate the Arena of Youth, a youth engagement programme for school and university students to participate in construction-related competitions.
In September, CIDB will host the International Construction Week (ICW) 2015, an international industry exposition and conference, the highlight of which will be the launch of the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP).
“As we head towards 2020, the CITP is the next phase to drive the policies of the government and to get the industry aligned to the goals of the country,” said Judin.
CIDB was set up in 1995 to provide effective leadership and consolidation to the construction industry, through registering contractors and skilled workers, and providing training to upgrade their skills.
The construction sector in Malaysia is estimated to contribute about ?5.5 per cent or RM36.3 billion ?to the Malaysian economy, with strong forward and backward linkages, as 120 types of businesses are related to the construction industry.
The significance of construction to the Malaysian economy is also related to its job creation potential.
It is estimated that construction accounts for 9.5 per cent of Malaysia’s total registered workforce. — Bernama