UMS to have Building Information Modeling lab

(From left to right): Indera, Sharoul, Shahril, Lim and Vanessa during the joint venture signing ceremony. KOTA KINABALU (Oct 21): A Building Information Modeling (BIM) laboratory will be established in Universiti Malaysia Sabah (UMS) as part of an Industry Collaboration Programme (ICP). This was made official through a joint venture signing between UMS, Technology Depository Agency (TDA) under the Ministry of Finance (MoF), Sabah Economic Development and Investment Authority (SEDIA) and WCT Holdings Bhd – China Communications Construction Company Sdn Bhd (WCJV) at the university campus on Monday.

Through the ICP, which is the first to be carried out in the state, TDA and industry partners had appointed UMS for this effort and will partially fund the construction of the lab at the university’s Faculty of Engineering, which aims to teach BIM to students and lecturers before its services are offered to outsiders in the future. BIM is a software system which plans the construction of a structure from the early stages right until the building’s end of life. It is more efficient as it prevents delays, losses and saves time.



In the programme, MoF as the ICP policy owner will outline a clear guide to achieve its objectives. SEDIA as a procurement agency is responsible to acquire the resources required to implement the project. TDA acts as an authority overseeing ICP, ensuring the programme runs smoothly and efficiently.

WCJV as the main contractor and supplier for ICP programmes manages the project’s overall implementation, ensuring it is completed in time, according to budget and is of the highest quality. UMS deputy vice-chancellor (Academic and International) Prof Dr Shahril Yusof expressed his gratitude for UMS being chosen for the ICP, a government initiative which aims to encourage the development of local industries in Malaysia. MoF’s Government Procurement Division (GPD) under secretary Dato Indera Ab Rahim Ab Rahman said the initiative is poised to add value to Sabah industries and spur its economic growth while increasing the marketability of graduates.

TDA chief executive officer Dr Sharoul Jambari said as an agency under MoF, they have been given the mandate to ensure that this government procurement can be benefitted not only by universities but also industries in the state. Sharoul said the programme not only involves the construction of a BIM laboratory for capacity building, but it is part of the larger Expansion of the Sepanggar Bay Container Port (SBCP) project, of which UMS, SEDIA, State Works Department and Sabah Port Sdn Bhd are among the beneficiaries. SBCP is located 25 kilometres north of Kota Kinabalu.

Once the expansion project is completed, it will double SBCP’s handling capacity from 500,000 to 1.25 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs). “These efforts are in line with the government’s aim to increase digitalisation in construction projects, including ports and other structures, as well as to ensure the use of technology is highly adapted by universities and industries,” said Sharoul.

Also present were SEDIA procurement and contract management chief officer Vanessa @ Yong Siew Ping and WCJV senior JV representative Lim Swee Hock..