KUALA LUMPUR (April 29): Bina Puri Holdings Bhd has teamed up with Key Alliance Group Bhd to develop building information systems (BIS) for companies in the construction sector.

Bina Puri said it will provide “our expertise and knowledge in the construction sector and our actual worksites to help develop the BIS” under an agreement it signed with Key Alliance’s subsidiary Progenet Innovations Sdn Bhd,

The collaboration is in line with its move towards adoption of technology, added Bina Puri in a filing with Bursa Malaysia.

"With the current environment and our reliance on foreign workers for construction, too much human capital is spent on the entire process, where really there should be solutions to automate and streamline the resources,” Bina Puri executive director Datuk Matthew Tee said in a separate statement.

Key Alliance, meanwhile, noted that Malaysia is lagging behind in the use of BIS, whose need “is glaring, especially in the preparation for resumption of work post-Movement Control Order”.

“With technology, sensors and the right Internet of Things (IoT) platforms, construction companies can improve their foreign worker tracking, crowd control, work order scheduling and logistics," said Key Alliance managing director Roy Ho.

Shares in Bina Puri closed 0.5 sen or 8.33% higher at 6.5 sen today, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM49.67 million.

Key Alliance rose 1.5 sen or 18.75% to 9.5 sen, valuing the ICT group at RM60.43 million.