By Peter R. Duffy & Wilson Lee
The construction sector is central not only to the Malaysian economy, but also to the improvement of quality of life and living standards of the people. The construction boom in Malaysia began in early 1990s. Today it continues to grow significantly in both domestic and international markets. Over the last two decades, it has been contributing between 3 and 5 per cent of the country’s aggregate GDP.
Malaysia has come a long way, with construction innovation driven by various factors. Needless to say, for the past 1.5 years, the demand for remote working and maintaining business continuity has become one of the greatest forces to innovate, as well as to expedite the digital transformation, such as the use of controlled access, remote monitoring, social distancing tools and digital communication. The sector has had to adapt to the changes in order to emerge from the massive disruption brought about by the pandemic.
Zooming in at the industry level, construction innovation in Malaysia or anywhere in the world could be driven by policies, changing customers and needs, intensified market competition, and shifting business environments. Of late, sustainability goals have also stimulated organisations to reinvent themselves. Organisations can no longer afford not to innovate, as other industries are increasingly driven by technology, construction—which has traditionally been one of the slower industries to innovate—has a large gap to fill as it looks to the future. Meanwhile, as projects become more complex, it is likely to propel innovative solutions centred on technology.
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Peter R. Duffy (left) is a performance driven Project Director (Turner International) with over 28 years of international experience across the United Kingdom, Middle East and Southeast Asia A Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Builders and Association for Project Management, Peter is a delivery focused Company Director and Construction Executive with over 30 years of international project and construction management experience working in the United Kingdom, Middle East and Southeast Asia.
With a strong history of delivering prestigious developments such as Merdeka PNB 118, Burj Khalifa, Al Raha Beach and Masdar City, Peter is a leader that strives to push the boundaries to deliver the very highest standards in collaboration, teamwork, proactiveness and excellence. With adept interpersonal skills and effective communication, Peter continues to use these to effectively navigate the complexities associated with multi-stakeholder, multi-component development projects around the world.
Wilson Lee (right) is the Country Manager for Turner International Malaysia. He oversees all project execution and delivery, risk and resource management, sales, business development and growth of the Malaysia business unit for Turner. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Civil and Environmental Engineering from the University of Adelaide. Wilson started his career in Sydney as an engineer, working with dam failure simulations and flood modelling work. Over the years, this experience has developed into a varied career within the construction industry spanning residential, industrial, commercial, mixed-use developments and public infrastructure projects.
