KUALA LUMPUR, May 16 — Works Minister Baru Bian is confident that the local construction industry will see better growth in the next quarter of 2019.

"I can ensure that there will be an increase in the sector’s growth, as the government is also aware about this and the industry must move on,” he told reporters after launching the Construction Personnel Registration Card Enhancement Programme, here today.

Baru was commenting on Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) report today that said while Malaysia’s economy grew 4.5 per cent for the first quarter of 2019 (1Q19), the construction sector grew by a dismal figure of 0.3 per cent compared with 4.9 per cent for the corresponding period in 2018.

He said there would be a lot of developments in the near future in this industry through the few mega projects that were still ongoing and some being revisited that would help contribute to better growth figures.

The ministry would also further scrutinise BNM’s report especially regarding the construction sector, he said.

Meanwhile, the Construction Personnel Registration Card Enhancement Programme was a collaborative partnership between the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia and Bayo Pay (M) Sdn Bhd (Bayo). — Bernama