THE Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Malaysia has conferred Light Rail Transit Line 3 (LRT3) contractor MRCB George Kent Sdn Bhd (MRCBGK) with the 5-Star Sustainable INFRASTAR certification today (Feb 10) for the design phase of LRT3, with the award witnessed by Works Minister Baru Bian.
The certification was presented by the minister, who also witnessed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between MRCBGK and CIDB Malaysia to enhance environmental sustainability programmes and good practices in construction works.
“The MoU will allow MRCBGK to share its best practices with other industry players, towards the aim of a more sustainable construction sector,” said LRT3 project director Hwang Chee Leong.
Examples of the sustainable practices include realignment of the LRT3 route to minimise disruption to religious areas, considering the route passes near a Muslim cemetery and a temple, as well as using a U-Trough design for the tracks, allowing the pier caps and the rail sections to be precast to minimise construction at sites.
MRCBGK, through LRT3, is also the first project to be evaluated, voluntarily or otherwise, by CIDB Malaysia, an agency under the Works Ministry, using the Sustainable INFRASTAR evaluation system. The system, launched in March 2019, is an objective and evidence-based evaluation system that assesses infrastructure projects on key sustainability factors, such as land use, impact of equipment use, and resource and waste management on construction sites. The system is also part of the Construction Industry Transformation Programme (CITP) under the Sustainability Strategic Thrust.
The certification benchmarks for the rating system are based on worldwide benchmarks, but with the aspects mixed and matched to be suitable for Malaysia,” said Datuk Ahmad ‘Asri Abdul Hamid, chief executive of CIDB Malaysia.
According to Baru Bian, it is a point of pride that not only is the construction of LRT3 sustainable, but the trains that will be used will be sustainable as well. He also said the response from the industry to the Sustainable INFRASTAR evaluation has been positive, with 18 more projects slated for evaluation. – Feb 10, 2020
