Asia as key mover for global growth

Salam and dear all, The Star today carries an article suggesting that Asian economies, not the West, are the key mover for global growth. Read the article here; The West no longer drive prosperity, intra-Asian trade emerging as key mover for global growth. Wassalam.

Call for Papers and Participants: 10th MiCRA Conference 2011

Salam and dear all, The International Islamic University Malaysia will host, the highly successful and now into its 10th series, MiCRA Conference 2011. The conference will be hosted by and held at the university's Kulliyyah of Architecture and Environmental Design, Gombak, Kuala Lumpur on 24th-25th July 2011. For details of the conference click here. Wassalam.

Call for Papers and Participants: 7th International Conference on Multi-national JV for Construction Works

Salam and dear all, The highly successful International Conference on Multi-national JV for construction Works is into its 7th series this year. The 7th Conference will be hosted by ITB Bandung, in collaboration with the initiators of the Conference i.e. Kyoto University and the International Islamic University Malaysia. This year's conference will be held in Bandung on 28th-29th September 2011. For full details click here. Wassalam.

Malaysia's My First Home Scheme

Salam and dear all, The Star Property 4th June 2011 presented an article discussing the government's My First Home Scheme. For the full article read: Housing dream come true? Industry players give their views on My First Home scheme - StarProperty.my Wassalam

Congratulations Mr Ong See Lian

Rare honour for Malaysian

Readings on the Proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT Project 4

Salam and dear all, Following my recent 3 postings on the proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT project, here are the web addresses of 4 key players of the project:

• Ministry of Finance Malaysia
• SPAD
• Prasarana
• MMC-Gamuda JV

Wassalam.

Readings on the Proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT Project 3

Here goes article no 3 as it appeared in The Star, 5th March 2011. MRT – mired in controversy

Readings on the Proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT Project 2

Here goes article no 2 as it appeared in The Star, 5th March 2011. In the eye of the storm

Readings on the Proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT Project 1

Salam and dear all,

1. The Star, 5th March 2011, published a series of articles discussing the proposed Kuala Lumpur MRT project.
2. The articles shed lights on various aspects and highlight concerns and controversies related to the proposed project including:
3. The project involves the construction of 150km line complete with stations, etc.
4. The latest estimate for the project is RM50b.
5. The project's client is the government of Malaysia. The government funds the project, parked under the Ministry of Finance, through a SPV to be formed soon.
6. The project owner is a government owned company Prasarana. Prasarana and the project's initial proposer - MMC & Gamuda JV Sdn Bhd - have been appointed the Project Development Partner or PDP.
7. The project will be monitored by the newly formed Land Public Transport Commission or SPAD.
8. Here goes the first article (as in the Star, 5th March 2011). Many thanks to The Star.
9. MRT project cost now estimated to reach RM50b

Wassalam.

PPP, PFI, PSP, PPI, PFP and P3

Salam and dear all, An article in Vanguard Online Edition discusses the concept of PPP and presented some of the common terms used across the globe: PPP, PFI, PSP, PPI, PFP and P3 and the various PPP models in use. To read the full article click here. I would like to acknowledge Vanguard Online Edition for making a reference to the said article in this posting. Wassalam.

Issues related to foreign labours in Malaysia

Salam and dear all, The Star February 19, 2011 posted 3 articles related to issues on foreign labour in Malaysia. To read the articles click here; here and here. Wassalam.

PFI projects: Lessons learned

Salam, The Economic Voice, 30th January 2011 published an article on PFI projects in the UK. Points discussed include the background to PFI, PFI contract agreement, unfair 'penalty', benefits to taxpayer, etc. Read the full article here. Many thanks to The Economic Voice. Wassalam.

Funding for PPP Projects

Salam and dear all,

• An article in The Star 14th January 2011 discusses effort by a Special Purpose Vehicle - SPV - to raise money in order to fund its projects under the concept of Public Private Partnership - PPP. In addition, an article in the Business Times 15th January 2011 provides further discussion on the subject of SPV and PPP.
• More importantly, both articles discusses the concept of Built-Lease-Transfer or BLT, 'off-balance sheet', an instrument under the shari'ah compliant mechanism referred to as sukuk and many more.
• Read the article here: Pembinaan BLT plans RM10b sukuk
• Read the article here: Pembinaan BLT to roll out jobs worth RM3b this year

Wassalam

Value management for projects in the public sector

Salam and dear all,

• The government has made it mandatory for projects worth RM50 mil and above to undergo value management or VE (EPU).
• The objectives of the VE exercise include to see if the projects fit into the government's overall development objectives and to assess the potential spin-off linkages for the economy (see The Star 11th January 2011) here: Govt management labs to assess big projects.

Wassalam

Malaysia: economic achievements in 2010

Salam and dear all, The Borneo Post 9th January 2011 has an article discussing the economic achievements of Malaysia in 2010. Read the article here:Malaysia: A Year in Review 2010. Wassalam.

Outlook for the property sector in 2011

Salam and dear all, The Star (2nd January 2011) carries an article on the outlook for the Malaysian property sector in 2011. Read here: Mixed prospects in property sector. Wassalam.

Positive outlook for the construction industry in 2011

Salam and dear all, Happy new year.

1. Government initiatives especially those under the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) that focuses on 12 National Key Economic Areas (NKEAs), the RM36b MRT project due to start in July 2011 and projects to be implemented under the 10th Malaysia Plan (2011-2015) suggest that 2011 is going to be a busy year for the Malaysian construction industry.
2. However, problems such as shortage of construction skilled workers and the near total reliance on labour intensive construction techniques continue to constraint the development of the construction industry.
3. The Star (2nd January 2011) carries an article on what to expect in 2011... read here: Excitement building up.
4. To know more about the ETP and the NKEAs read here: ETP.
5. To know more about the 10th Malaysia Plan read here: 10th Malaysia Plan.

Wassalam.