Wider use of Industrial Building System in Sabah hindered by these challenges
Published on: Tuesday, May 28, 2024
By: Mohd Izham Bin Hashim
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Loke and others at the launching ceremony of KTI Landmark’s inaugural prospectus for Initial Public Offering on the ACE Market.
“The wider use of IBS in Sabah, despite its huge advantages over conventional construction, will be dependent on the state’s geography and unique dynamics, which are vastly different from Peninsular and even Sarawak,” said KTI Landmark Berhad Executive Director, Wilson Loke.
He acknowledged that such concerns had been raised before at the CIDB, but noted that Sabah presented unique challenges to the introduction of IBS systems in the State.
“There are a lot of suppliers of IBS systems in the peninsula, which is very different from Sabah.
“So, in that sense, a lot of players in the peninsula have tried to do IBS, while some are successful, others have not done very well,” he told reporters at the launching ceremony of KTI Landmark’s inaugural prospectus for Initial Public Offering on the ACE Market.
As a leading provider of IBS solutions in Sabah’s construction sector, KTI managed to complete and sell its Taman Seri Lemawang project in Tuaran on time, despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We still managed to finish Taman Seri Lemawang which was one of our key projects before the Movement Control Order (MCO) in which factories and construction activities were brought to a standstill for a year,” he said.
Wilson said KTI has several ongoing projects, including The Logg, Taman Bukit Alamanda in Nagapas, Taman Seri Lemawang in Tuaran and the recently launched Ayuria Place in Alamesra.
He pointed out most of KTI’s developments use IBS systems, with the exception of the company’s flagship project, The Logg, due to logistical issues and space constraints.
“The construction of the Logg will be using a different system, there is no need for IBS due to space constraints,” he said.
Wilson noted that the tower block has been fully sold, while the take-up of the second block stands at 40 per cent. The majority of buyers are local, and the project is yet to be open to offshore or overseas buyers.
Meanwhile, KTI Managing Director and CEO, Dr Gordon Loke, said the KTI Landmark has strong ties with the Sabah Housing and Urban Development Board (LPPB) owing to the company’s excellent track record in delivering projects.
“Any project taken up with LPPB will be launched within a year,” he said, noting that the company participates in the open tender process to acquire projects from LPPB.
“The chances of us getting the project is quite high, this is our plan strategy,” he said.
Meanwhile, Wilson added that KTI has RM300 million worth of projects to develop, with the focus on The Logg, which is expected to be completed by December 2025.
“In Tuaran, we will try to increase more units in the joint venture project with neighbouring land about 80 acres, as well as contribute 600 units of landed property and Alam Mesra where we have 2000 units of affordable housing,” he said.
