Construction sector expands 9.6% to RM33.4 bil in Q3 - DOSM

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's construction sector work done value soared by 9.6 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) in the third quarter (3Q) 2023 to record a total of RM33.4 billion, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM).

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin said value of work done in the construction sector continued to sustain its positive pace for the sixth quarter (2Q 2023: 8.1 per cent).

"The momentum was driven by a double-digit growth in the civil engineering sub-sector, which increased by 17.1 per cent (2Q 2023: 10.4 per cent); and a surge in the special trade activities by 16.2 per cent (2Q 2023: 9.8 per cent)," he said in DoSM's 'Quarterly Construction Statistics, Malaysia, 3Q 2023'.

He said the residential buildings also contributed to the growth, recording 7.9 per cent (2Q 2023: 6.9 per cent).

Meanwhile, the sub-sector of non-residential buildings decreased marginally by 0.7 per cent in contrast to the 5.7 per cent growth in the previous quarter.

He elaborated that, out of RM33.4 billion recorded in the 3Q 2023, a total of RM13.5 billion or 40.5 per cent of the construction work done value was in civil engineering.

The rise was mainly attributed to the construction of roads and railways activity with 22.1 per cent or amounted to RM7.4 billion.

The value of work done for non-residential buildings and residential buildings was RM9.2 billion (27.5 per cent) and RM7.3 billion (21.9 per cent), respectively.

The special trade activities contributed RM3.4 billion (10.0 per cent), primarily in plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation (RM1.1 billion); and electrical installation (RM0.9 billion) activities, he said.

Meanwhile, the private sector continued as the main impetus to the growth in this quarter, with an increase of 8.6 per cent (2Q 2023: 17.3 per cent) which came from special trade activities (26.5 per cent) and civil engineering (10.2 per cent).

The value of work done by the private sector amounted to RM19.6 billion or 58.5 per cent of the total construction work done value.

On the other hand, the public sector, with a 41.5 per cent share or RM13.9 billion, rebounded strongly, recording a double-digit growth of 10.9 per cent compared with a decline of 4.8 per cent in the previous quarter.

This rebound was fuelled by civil engineering (19.2 per cent) and residential buildings activities (14.8 per cent) totalling RM10.6 billion and RM0.5 billion, respectively.

Nearly 60 per cent of the work done value in 3Q 2023 was concentrated in Selangor (RM8.1 billion or 24.2 per cent), Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan) valued at RM4.3 billion or 12.8 per cent, Sarawak (RM3.8 billion or 11.4 per cent), and Johor (RM3.5 billion or 10.6 per cent).

"The performance of the construction work done for the first three quarters of 2023 was valued at RM98.0 billion, reflecting a 9.0 per cent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2022 (1Q to 3Q 2022: 6.6 per cent).

"Notably, the positive growth was propelled by the significant contribution of civil engineering activities (14.9 per cent)," Mohd Uzir added.

-- BERNAMA