| Azlan Othman |
THOUGH construction industry in the Sultanate is facing a slowdown, it is critically important that the sector continue to support the country’s national development agenda as it can significantly benefit other sectors of the economy.
This was stated by Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah, Minister of Development, at the opening of the 3rd National Conference of PUJA (Institution of Surveyors, Engineers and Architects) yesterday at Universiti Teknologi Brunei (UTB).
“In 2016, the construction industry contributed B$393.1 million at current prices, or 2.5 per cent, to the gross domestic product (GDP). This represents a decline of 6.6 per cent at constant prices compared to a growth of 4.8 per cent in 2015,” the minister said.
“Effective provision of infrastructure underpins socio-economic development, investment, businesses, job opportunities and GDP growth at the aggregate level.
“It is important for our construction industry as a whole to have the right perspective. It must adopt a constructive attitude in the current challenging times. Economies and businesses normally go through phases of growth and decline even though the long-term trajectory tends to be upwards.
“Therefore, it is imperative that the construction industry players strengthen their resolve and use the current downturn as a stepping stone to continue to learn, evolve, grow and develop in tandem with the country’s effort towards realising Vision 2035.
“The construction industry must look at how best to utilise the current economic climate as an opportunity for improvement and future growth,” the minister said.
“One of the possible ways is through increasing productivity which is one of the key focuses under Vision 2035 where one of the KPIs (key performance indicators) is annual productivity improvement level. It is a widely known fact that globally the construction industry generally suffers from productivity issues,” the minister added. The PUJA conference carries the theme ‘Professional in National Gross Domestic Product Improvement’.
Earlier Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Bahrin said, “As everyone knows, Brunei Darussalam is currently intensifying its efforts to diversify the economy and return to a growth path.”
According to figures issued by the Department of Economic Planning and Development (JPKE), the country’s total annual GDP value in 2016 stood at B$15.7 billion (current prices), compared to B$17.8 billion in 2015. Measured at constant prices, this represents a decline of 2.5 per cent, the minister noted.
“As an economy, we are still heavily reliant on the oil and gas sector which makes up more than half of the country’s GDP. Hence, the Government of His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam is actively pursuing various strategies of economic diversification, to be less dependent on oil and gas. Among which, the country is making serious efforts at enhancing the business climate in the country through improved World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business (EODB) ranking, facilitating the attraction of foreign direct investment (FDI), strengthening GLCs governance and businesses, priming SME for growth opportunities and raising productivities.”
The minister added that the government and its various stakeholders and partners such as PUJA are collaborating to implement the initiatives towards revamping the construction industry to make it more productive.
“Learning and promoting best practices has led to the adoption of forward looking initiatives such as adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM), new construction methodology such as pre-fabrication and modular construction and various building and construction standards which include rigorous health and safety regulations and guidelines.
“The government has also initiated a competency-based framework for the workforce and created Institute of Brunei Technical Education and Apprenticeship Schemes such as i-Ready which is hoped to provide a steady access to supply of competent workers.
“Furthermore, through the Ease of Doing Business initiatives, a number of regulations and processes had been revamped, which include approval processes under ABCi. All in all, we have made a good start in the desired direction towards a more robust and responsive construction industry in Brunei Darussalam,” the minister said.
Meanwhile, Mohammad Nazri bin Mohammad Yusof, President of PUJA Brunei (2016-2017), said transformation from government-driven and oil and gas economy to a more diversified and private sector-driven economy requires a whole-of-nation approach. Professionals as experts in their fields should play a leading role in this transformation.
Invited speaker, Bryane Michael, a researcher, prominent advisor to various government bodies and currently a senior fellow at the faculty of law at University of Hong Kong, delivered a presentation on ‘Net Product in Brunei Darussalam’.
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