Local contractors urged to take part in Battersea Project
KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade) is urging more local contractors and building material suppliers to participate in the Battersea development project.
Chief Executive Officer Datuk Dzulkifli Mahmud said with the current challenging times, Malaysia is working hard to push its exports further and has identified building materials as one of the sectors to highlight.
He said in 2014 Malaysia’s exports of building materials to the United Kingdom (UK) increased by 14.3 per cent to US$205.4 million compared to the previous year, but as of September this year the exports had slightly decreased by eight per cent.
He told reporters at a seminar on working with Battersea Power Station Development Company UK yesterday that he believed with the current development in the UK property sector and with the help of various parties, exports of building materials from Malaysia could be increased in the next two months.
He said Battersea, an iconic project not only in the UK but also in Europe, is the biggest regeneration project worth £8 billion or almost RM60 billion today, and for today’s event 37 companies had been shortlisted and identified by Battersea to supply their products and services.
The companies provide timber flooring and doors, steel bars, steel tubes, iron, ceramic floor tiles and sanitary ware, among others.
“Malaysian companies wishing to participate in this project must meet the high standards set by the major contractors to deliver highclass products on time, and successful ones could use this as testimony to penetrate the UK market as well as Europe,” said Dzulkifli.
The project, in seven phases and expected to be completed in 2026, would create immense opportunities for Malaysian companies to supply suitable products and services especially building materials, he said, adding most of the identified Malaysian companies are targeted for the project’s first four phases. — Bernama