Malaysia's construction sector growth at 12.9% with work done worth RM43.9b in 2Q—official data

• Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth was driven by continued expansion in the special trade activities and non-residential buildings sub-sectors, which posted substantial double-digit growth of 22.2% and 16.2% respectively.

KUALA LUMPUR (Aug 11): Malaysia’s construction sector maintained steady growth of 12.9%, with the value of work done reaching RM43.9 billion in the second quarter of 2025, following a 16.6% increase in the previous quarter, according to the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said the growth was driven by continued expansion in the special trade activities and non-residential buildings sub-sectors, which posted substantial double-digit growth of 22.2% and 16.2% respectively.

“The residential buildings sub-sector also contributed significantly, expanding by 13.9%, while the civil engineering sub-sector maintained a positive trend with a growth of 7.5%,” he said in the department's quarterly construction statistics on Monday.

Mohd Uzir said that of RM43.9 billion of work done value, a total of RM16.3 billion or 37.1% was attributed to the civil engineering sub-sector, primarily in the activity of construction of utility projects of RM8.1 billion and roads and railways at RM6.5 billion.

“The value of work done for the non-residential buildings and residential buildings sub-sectors accounted for RM12.4 billion (28.2%) and RM10 billion (22.8%) respectively.

“Additionally, the special trade activities sub-sector accounted for RM5.2 billion (11.9%), largely in site preparation (RM1.5 billion), electrical installation (RM1.2 billion), and plumbing, heat and air-conditioning installation (RM1.1 billion) activities,” he said.

He also noted that the private sector remained the primary driver of growth in the sector, contributing RM28.2 billion or 64.2% of the total value.

According to him, the private sector sustained its double-digit growth momentum at 19.3% growth from 23.7% in 1Q2025, propelled by strong performance in the non-residential buildings (23.7%) and the special trade activities (22.8%) sub-sectors.

“Apart from that, the value of work done by the public sector increased by 3.1% (1Q2025: 6.3%) to RM15.7 billion (share: 35.8%), fuelled by the special trade activities sub-sector at 20.8% growth,” he noted.

On the states’ performance, he said nearly 61.1% of the total work done value was concentrated in Selangor, Johor, Sarawak and the Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan).

The construction value in Selangor amounted to RM9.7 billion or 22.2%, contributed by non-residential buildings of RM3.2 billion, followed by the residential buildings (RM2.9 billion) and civil engineering (RM2.4 billion) sub-sectors.

Meanwhile, Johor ranked second with a value of RM7.7 billion or 17.5%, primarily from the non-residential buildings (RM3.4 billion) sub-sector. In the meantime, the value of work done in Sarawak was RM5.2 billion (11.9%), while the Federal Territories recorded RM4.2 billion (9.5%).

“In the first half of 2025, the sector posted a value of RM86.8 billion, reflecting a 14.7% increase compared to the same period in 2024, driven by positive performance across all sub-sectors, particularly in special trade activities of 28.3% and residential buildings (20%),” he added.

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