By BERNAMA
The total value of the construction work completed during the first half of 2015 expanded by 11.6% to RM56 billion with 20,056 projects registered from 19,649 projects worth RM50 billion recorded in the same period last year.
The Finance Ministry, in the 2015/2016 Economic Report released today, said the non-residential sub-sector contributed 34.7% to the value of the construction work, followed by civil engineering, residential and specialised construction activities.
The report is issued in conjunction with the tabling of the 2016 Budget today by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is also finance minister.
The private sector continued to dominate construction activities with a share of 67.7% during the first half, it said.
The value-added of the construction sector grew at a moderate pace of 7.7% during the period under review compared with 14.5% registered in the same period last year, on slower civil engineering and residential activities, it said.
“The highest share was contributed by residential (27.7%), followed by civil engineering, non-residential and specialised construction activities sub-sectors,” it said.
Amid the moderate growth outlook, the ministry expected the construction sector to expand by 8.8% this year, slightly lower compared with last year’s 11.8%.
“During the first half this year, the residential sub-sector expanded moderately by 9.8% compared with 22.1% in the same period 2014, partly due to the decline in new housing approvals, reflecting cautious sentiment among housing developers amid challenging environment.
“However, the moderation was cushioned by the steady growth in incoming supply at 13.8% from 10.3% recorded in the first six month of 2014, it said.
Meanwhile, the mining sector grew by 7.8% during the first half of this year compared with 1% in 2014, largely driven by the higher output of crude oil which offset the lower production of natural gas.
“The ongoing operations in the production phase will continue despite weaker crude oil prices. Thus, production of crude oil is expected to grow by 4.5% to 630,000 barrels per day (bpd) this year from 602,815 bpd in 2014,” it said.
The ministry said output of natural gas fell by 1.5% to 6,155 million standard cu ft per day (mmscfd) during the first eight months this year, partly on account of scheduled maintenance of some liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants.
“However, production for 2015 is expected to increase marginally by 1.4% to 6,420 mmscfd despite subdued LNG prices.
“Thus, value-added of the mining sector is expected to grow by 3.5% in 2015, supported by the increase in production of crude oil and natural gas,” it added.
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