Malaysia’s Construction Sector Opportunities Remain Abundant -- RHB IB

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 4 (Bernama) -- Opportunities in Malaysia’s construction sector remain abundant, driven by surging demand for data centres (DCs) alongside the rollout of non-DC projects, said RHB Investment Bank Bhd (RHB IB).

In a note today, the investment bank said the total value of construction work done rose 13 per cent year-on-year to a record RM43.9 billion in the second quarter of 2025.

“DC space is expected to remain active. Tenaga Nasional has signed five electricity supply agreements for seven DC projects in the country, with a combined electricity demand of 733 megawatt (MW) year-to-date 2025 as at Aug 15," it said.

RHB IB noted that Johor alone has approximately 1,473 MW of committed information technology DC capacity, according to DC Byte’s market spotlight report, while Kuala Lumpur has 960 MW of planned DC capacity, based on Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated’s first half 2025 Asia Pacific DC Market Dynamics report.

Additionally, the bank estimates that the 157-hectare land in Port Dickson earmarked for DC development, acquired by Pearl Computing Malaysia, could accommodate between 500 MW and 1.0 gigawatt of DC capacity. 

RHB IB also highlighted a substantial number of non-DC projects in the pipeline.

It said awards related to the elevated Automated Rapid Transit (ART) system in Johor (estimated cost: RM6-7 billion) are expected to be announced by year-end, with three consortia believed to have submitted proposals to the government’s public-private partnership unit.

Other key projects include tenders for the Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) system works (estimated at RM3-4 billion), which are likely to be announced in the second half of 2025, while tenders for Segment 2 of the Penang LRT connecting Komtar and Penang Sentral (estimated at RM5-6 billion) could be advertised in October, it added.

RHB IB maintained its ‘overweight’ call on the sector.

-- BERNAMA