KUCHING: Sarawak government has invested RM29 million to set up an Industrialised Building System (IBS) factory to produce materials for the construction of quality and affordable houses.
Premier Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Abang Johari said the factory would produce quality components for houses, commercial buildings as well as infrastructure projects, making construction faster and more efficient.
He said it could create prefabricated house modules, simplifying construction processes and most importantly, reducing waste – hence, making it a more environmentally-friendly approach.
“We have invested and adopted this approach as it is in line with our aspiration to provide more quality and affordable houses.
“This will help us to fulfil the needs of our people here, particularly the low and middle income families,” he said at the official opening ceremony of the factory at Demak Laut here today (Feb 6).
The IBS factory is owned by LCDA CTR Technology Sdn. Bhd (LCTSB), a Government-Linked Company (GLC) formed through collaboration between LCDA Real Estate Sdn. Bhd (LRESB) and CTR Prefab Technology Sdn. Bhd (CTR).
According to Abang Johari, the factory can produce components for various house designs, including bungalows for the village schemes.
“It is like assembling Lego pieces to build a house; where factory-made prefabricated elements will be transported and put together at the site,” he explained.
“Thus, we can produce about 500 to 600 units of houses annually, complete with components like bathrooms and rooms,” he said.
According to him, the government was planning to adopt the IBS system for mixed-use-development in Depo, Samariang before expanding it to Kabong and Asajaya in the rural areas under the village expansion scheme.
He also said the government was targeting to build between 1,500 and 2,000 houses in urban and rural areas.
He was optimistic with the IBS system, all these houses could be completed earlier.
The Premier suggested that LCDA establish a second factory in the central region to facilitate logistics for construction components to the northern region of Sarawak.
