AECOM UPBEAT ON FUTURE IN MALAYSIA
US engineering firm sees huge demand for design, planning, construction and project management
UNITED States engineering firm AECOM plans to boost its investment in Malaysia as the country undergoes massive development both in buildings and infrastructure.
AECOM Asia Pacific president Sean Chiao said Kuala Lumpur was among Asian cities currently undergoing hyper-development.
“I think Malaysia has a lot of resources and holds a lot of opportunities for companies to expand. With smart planning and execution of proper infrastructure, Malaysia can grow and become a leading Southeast Asian country,” he said.
Chiao added that he was positive on the overall outlook for the local construction sector.
He said projects like the Klang Valley mass rapid transit (MRT) Line 2, the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) and the planned Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project would be the biggest catalysts for growth in Malaysia.
“Malaysia is a growing country not only in terms of population, but also a fast-rising middle class. On the business side of things, there is huge demand for design, planning, construction, project management and investment.
“We will continue to grow our business here,” said Chiao.
AECOM has more than 800 professionals working on several projects here, including the River of Life (ROL) and MRT Line 2.
It had previously worked on the MRT Line 1 project.
“The ROL, which has just begun its first phase of development, is a very important project. We did everything from competition, planning to designing the landscape. Our next target is the HSR.”
Chiao was here recently for the “Kuala Lumpur: Designing the Public Realm” exhibition, which ended last week.
The exhibition was a joint collaboration between AECOM and the Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD).
“Southeast Asia’s mega-cities of Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta and Manila are in the midst of incredible development.
“It is clear that Asia is at the forefront of global urbanisation, and it is critically important to engage as many bright minds as possible in this transformation,” said Chiao.