KUALA LUMPUR (Oct 12): Two consortiums led by leading Malaysian infrastructure firms are eyeing for opportunities in road and highway-related construction projects in the Indian state of Rajasthan, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof. 
 
"The consortiums have put their bid, and the sentiment to secure road-related projects in India looks positive. I am unable to name the firms, but they will announce it, if they succeeded in getting it," Fadillah said.
 
In August, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveiled various road and highway-related projects worth nearly US$15.83 billion, as part of a plan to build robust infrastructure in Rajasthan, the country’s largest state in terms of land area.
 
Fadillah was speaking to reporters after chairing a closed-door ministerial committee to assess the performance of the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP).  
 
He said the local construction industry has managed to achieve 96.5% of the targets in 117 key performance indicators (KPIs) on successful outcome of various initiatives.
 
The KPIs are spread among four strategic thrusts: quality, safety and professionalism; environmental sustainability; productivity and internationalisation. 
 
"I am pleased that the industry is on the right track to reach the KPIs and outcomes set for year 2020," Fadillah said. 
 
He added that the local construction industry have been consistently scoring between 95% and 99% in each of the strategic four thrusts.
 
On the global front, Fadillah said Malaysian firms have managed to secure 79 overseas contracts worth RM2.7 billion in the first six months of 2017, exceeding the full-year target of RM2 billion. 
 
"I am very happy that our construction firms are competitive enough at the global level. Our projection is for our local players to secure a total of RM8 billion jobs by end-2020," he added.
 
Meanwhile, Fadillah said foreign construction firms that have secured contracts in Malaysia must ensure 30% of building materials and jobs are sourced locally.  
 
"This is important, as we want an equitable investors on a win-win basis," he added.  
 
Launched on Sept 10, 2015, the five-year CITP runs from 2016 until 2020, with the primary objective of transforming the construction sector towards becoming highly productive, as well as environmentally sustainable and competitive, while prioritising safety and quality.