IN 2022 the construction sector posted a 8.8% rebound after a two-year declining trend, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DoSM) said.

In a report today, chief statistician Mohd Uzir Mahidin said all sub-sectors picked up during the year with double-digit growth recorded in special trade activities (19.6%) and non-residential buildings (18.7%).

“The civil engineering and residential building sub-sectors showed positive growth of 2.7% and 3.4%, respectively,” he said.

The total value of construction work done in 2022 amounted to RM121.9 billion, “lower than the pre-pandemic period” in 2019 which totalled RM146.4 billion, he said.

Uzir also said that the construction sector continued to perform favourably in 2022’s fourth quarter (4Q) with the value of work going up by 15.7% to RM32.0 billion after growing strongly by 23.2% in the third quarter (3Q) of 2022.

The residential sub-sector rose 5.3% compared to a year ago, the statement said.

DoSM said of the total RM32.0 billion worth of work done, RM12.1 billion, or 37.9% comprised civil engineering, followed by non-residential buildings with a share of 30.1%, or RM9.6 billion. The value of work done in residential buildings was RM7 billion (21.8%) and special trade activities RM3.26 billion (10.2%).

The private sector provided the main impetus to 4Q’s construction growth, the statement said.

On a state level basis, DoSM said more than 60% of the value of the work done was concentrated in Selangor (RM7.7 billion, 24.2%); Wilayah Persekutuan (RM4.7 billion, 14.7%); Sarawak (RM3.7 billion, 11.7%) and Johor (RM3.4 billion, 10.7%). – Bernama, February 8, 2023.