Gamuda Bhd utilizes digital IBS to provide affordable housing
In tandem with the National Housing Policy (2018-2025) of providing affordable and quality housing for all, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad officiated the Gamuda Industrialized Building System (IBS) factory in Bandar Mahkota Banting on 2nd May 2019.
Dr Mahathir said that the short-term goals of the National Housing Policy included building up to 100,000 affordable homes capped at a price of RM300, 000 by the end of this year.
The IBS factory in Banting is the second to be built by Gamuda Bhd since 2016. Both factories were developed at a total cost of RM500 million. IBS factory is able to build 10,000 homes and 16,000 bathroom pods a year.
Dr Mahathir said embracing digital IBS technology to build affordable housing is coming at a good time as it was evolving with the Fourth Industrial Revolution (IR 4.0).
Moreover, it is also aligned with the current trend of automation and manufacturing technologies that includes cloud computing and Building Information Modeling (BIM).
“The use of digital IBS, which comprises of BIM, an online design tool coupled with IBS in public housing projects, will help the government to meet its target of one million affordable homes over a period of 10 years,” he said.
Dr Mahathir stressed that since Malaysia was a developing country, supplying an efficient number of affordable homes was one of the government’s top priorities, especially for the bottom 40 per cent income group (B40).
By employing the help of digital technology such as the IBS method of construction, it will help push the government’s effort for more affordable housing.
Besides that, Dr Mahathir commended Gamuda for investing in IBS and said that the digital shift in the construction sector was a type of disruptive technology that Malaysia should see more of.
“Their move can set the trend in elevating and shifting construction. The digital manufacturing for construction will not only help the government build the affordable homes of the future but will result in faster construction,” he said.
Innovative digital technologies like IBS and BIM are the next step forward to tackle the issue of supply and demand for affordable homes. It will also pave the way to reduce dependency on foreign workers in the construction sector. In addition, the local workforce will have the opportunity to up-skill by learning more about digital technology as well as the use of robotics.
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