Sarawak Consolidated eyes for more govt IBS projects

KUCHING: Sarawak Consolidated Industries Bhd (SCIB) has secured two major contracts worth about RM10mil for the supply of industrialised building system (IBS) products to two government projects.

The first contract is worth RM6mil for the Sarawak General Hospital (SGH) redevelopment project and the other is worth RM4mil for the Sungai Tapang school’s extension here, according to SCIB general manager Chai Tze Khang.

The RM351mil SGH redevelopment project, which is expected to be ready by early 2021, involves the construction of a 160-room medi-hotel, a multi-storey car park complex that will provide 1,789 parking bays, an elevated helipad as well as a three-storey daycare centre.

The day-care centre will house seven operating theatres and surgery care facilities, a blood bank, a pathology laboratory and 60 beds.

Chai said SCIB had recently completed the supply of IBS components, like concrete beams, columns and floor slabs, worth about RM4mil for the reconstruction and extension projects of 15 dilapidated schools.

These projects were managed by both the Education Ministry and Public Works Department.

The Federal Finance Ministry had earlier this year approved RM1bil to fund the reconstruction of 400 dilapidated schools in Sarawak, most of them in the rural areas, using the IBS products.

He said SCIB, the largest manufacturer of precast concrete IBS components in Sarawak, was eyeing more similar school projects and other new government projects which have been approved for implementation.

“This month, tenders have opened for several vocational, secondary and primary schools projects in Sarawak. We understand that the designs of a number of these projects are based on using IBS products,” Chai told StarBiz.

Also in the pipeline are new government buildings and health clinic projects.

He said there was an increasing usage of IBS products in public projects as both the federal and Sarawak governments are encouraging their utilisation to reduce dependency on foreign labour on construction sites and to reduce the outflow of capital.

An important benefit of using IBS is the reduction in construction time, which contributes to cost savings.

The quality of building materials are also more standardised because the IBS components are factory-manufactured.

SCIB group’s other core business is the manufacture and supply of a wide range of precast concrete products for the construction and infrastructure sector.

The group owns three plants in Pending Industrial Estate and Demak Laut Industrial Park here with a combined capacity of 350,000 tonnes per annum.

Chai said among the new orders SCIB had secured this year included the supply of about RM2mil worth of precast foundation piles to South Korea’s Iljin Materials Co Ltd.

Iljin is investing RM2.2bil in manufacturing facilities to produce copper foil for batteries in the Sama Jaya Free Trade Zone here. These batteries are used in smartphones and electric vehicles.

While phase one is expected to be completed later this year, Iljin is going ahead with a couple of other projects that are reportedly bigger than phase one.

“The other projects will require more precast concrete products, like foundation piles. We hope to supply more such products to these projects,” said Chai.

He said besides foundation piles, orders for the group’s precast concrete products continued to flow in from contractors of the RM16bil Pan Borneo Highyway. These products include pipe culverts and square piles.

The group also supplies precast foundation piles and beams for the construction of some 114 new bridges across rivers under the highway project which is due for completion by 2021.

“We have outstanding orders of between RM22 mil and RM25mil to be delivered for the highway project,” he added.

SCIB recently invested RM4.8mil in a new pipe and box griders plant to expand the annual production capacity of concrete pipe and beams by 47,800 tonnes.

Chai said this was necessary to meet increasing demand for precast concrete products from the Pan Borneo Highway.

He expects the group’s business to be further boosted with the impending implementation of several major Sarawak government-funded infrastructure projects.

Last week, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said RM11 bil has been allocated to finance the Sarawak coastal highway project (RM6bil), water supply projects (RM2.8bil) and electricity connectivity projects (RM2.3 bil) in the next two years.

There are 247 water-related projects, ranging from water treatment plants to distribution network, pipe replacement to upgrading works. It is understood that the authorities have invited bidding via open tender for some of these projects.

“We have received many enquiries for foundation piles which are used in water treatment plants,” said Chai.

The group’s current order book is about RM40mil and its plants that produce precast concrete products are running at about 70% capacity.

This month, tenders have opened for several vocational, secondary and primary schools projects in Sarawak. We understand that the designs of a number of these projects are based on using IBS products.

Chai Tze Khang