Houses to cost five pct cheaper with IBS — CIDB

SEPANG: House prices could drop by up to five per cent if the usage of industrialised building system (IBS) concept is made mandatory in construction in 2020, said the Construction and Industry Development Board (CIDB).

Its Chief Executive Officer, Datuk Ir Ahmad Asri Abd Hamid said developers would be able to reduce cost in terms of manpower as well as productivity, whereby the project duration could be cut to by 12 to 18 months with IBS compared to conventional construction method.

“When manpower is reduced and construction period is shortened, this means the houses being built can be sold earlier...this could save up to two per cent interest on bank loan for the project,” he told the media after accompanying Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on a visit to Gamuda Industrialised Building System (GIBS) here, today.

Ahmad Asri said the five per cent reduction could be achieved in the first three years of the project’s implementation if the demand for IBS construction components was high and continued to increase.

“IBS is manufacturing, just like making a car, if production is less than one million units, the car will cost more as it’s not competitive in the market.

“Similarly with IBS, if its usage in the construction sector is enforced, demand will increase and on that factor, we are confident house prices will decrease according to the demand trend at that time,” he said.

On the adoption of IBS usage in the construction sector currently, Ahmad Asri said government projects had reached 70 per cent, while a study is ongoing to determine the IBS usage in private sector projects after the sector recorded only 15 per cent usage in the last three years.

“We (CIDB) are focusing on initiatives to create an ecosystem through promotion and training to contractors or property developers on the importance and advantages of IBS before it is fully enforced later,” he said.

Fadillah during his visit to GIBS reiterated his commitment to include additional initiatives to promote fully integrated plants similar to GIBS through the Construction Industry Transformation Programme 2016-2020. — Bernama