M`SIAN GOVT SHOULD DO MORE TO SPUR CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 27 (Bernama) -- The Master Builders Association
Malaysia (MBAM) hopes the government will do more to ensure the sustainability
and growth of the construction industry.

" Although the construction industry registered a positive growth of 2.8 per
cent in the second quarter of 2009, it's essential that the industry be
continuously nurtured for the overall growth of the Malaysian economy," the
association said in a statement Thursday.

Malaysia's central bank Bank Negara Malaysia projectd a Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) growth of three per cent, this year, for the construction
industry, which is an integral part of the country's infrastructure, industrial
and socio-economic development.

The industry generates substantial employment and provides a growth impetus
to other sectors through backward and forward linkages.

Against this backdrop, MBAM urged the government to quickly dispense the
balance of projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.

Some of the large projects, waiting in the pipeline to be implemented in the
next two quarters of this year,include the Eastern Corridor Economic Region
(ECER), Light Rail Transport (LRT) expansion project, road expansion project in
the East Malaysian states of Sabah and Sarawak, and the Low Cost Carrier
Terminal (LCCT).
-- BERNAMA