PETALING JAYA: French industrial company, Lafarge, has introduced a new building system called “Fastbuild’, which it claims will help reduce construction cost and time.
Fastbuild, an innovative monolithic building system, enables construction to be undertaken more efficiently with consistent quality, and able to address Malaysia’s affordable housing challenge, said Lafarge Malaysia Bhd President and Chief Executive Officer, Bradley Mulrone.
“The cost of construction can be reduced by promoting construction efficiency and using the right construction methods, materials and solutions.
“With Fastbuild, we are able to reduce construction time and cost significantly, and this could be a solution to Malaysia’s affordable housing challenge,” Mulroney told Bernama today after the group’s annual general meeting here.
Construction time for dwellings can be reduced by 84 per cent and the cost by 36 per cent, compared to those constructed conventionally.
Mulroney said Lafarge Malaysia will start presenting the solution to Perumahan Rakyat 1Malaysia Bhd (PR1MA) and Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB) and to all state governments, on an individual basis.
He said Lafarge Malaysia also recently launched its rural roads solution that has a comparable or lower initial cost and up to 55 per cent savings over a 20-year life cycle, when compared to a rural road made from asphalt.
“Lafarge’s rural road solution not only delivers initial cost savings but also generate savings of up to 55 per cent over a 20-year life cycle.
“Rural concrete roads are more durable, especially in flood-prone areas, and are constructed using local raw materials and resources, contributing to the local economy,” said Mulroney.
He said Lafarge Malaysia will start pilot projects based on the latest solution for some new roads in the Klang Valley and Kedah next month, in collaboration with the Ministry of Works and the Public Works Department (JKR).
Mulroney said both system and solution were developed at Lafarge’s Construction Development Laboratory (CDL) in Petaling Jaya.
The CDL was opened in June last year to accelerate the process of adapting innovations developed at the Lafarge Centre of Research in Lyon, France, for the benefit of the Malaysian construction industry, said Mulroney.
“We will continue to invest in the development of the Malaysian construction industry and in raising construction standards,” he added.
Meanwhile, for the current financial year (FY) 2015, Mulroney said he expects a positive construction sector, driven by the continued progress of government-led investments, key infrastructure projects with residential and commercial developments. – BERNAMA