KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — The Building Material Cost Index (BCI), excluding steel bars, in almost all regions in Peninsular Malaysia increased by 0.1 per cent to 1.9 per cent for nearly all building categories in February 2021 compared with the previous month, said the Department of Statistics Malaysia.
With steel bars, the BCI for almost all regions in the peninsula rose between 0.1 per cent and 2.6 per cent for almost all building categories, it said in a statement today.
The department’s chief statistician Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Uzir Mahidin said without steel bars, the BCI in Perak and Pahang decreased between 0.1 per cent and 2.0 per cent for almost all categories of buildings.
For Sabah, the BCI in Kota Kinabalu increased between 0.1 per cent and 3.8 per cent for almost all building categories while that in Sandakan fell between 0.1 per cent and 0.4 per cent for almost all categories of buildings.
The BCI in Tawau recorded a drop of 0.1 per cent for five-storey and above reinforced concrete (RC) office buildings and RC piling.
Meanwhile, the BCI in Kuching increased between 0.2 per cent and 0.8 per cent for almost all building categories except for RC piling that slid 0.4 per cent.
In Sibu, the index rose 0.1 per cent for two- to four-storey (RC) flat-roof buildings while in Miri, it gained between 0.4 and 1.7 per cent for almost all building categories.
In terms of the BCI with steel bars, the index in Perak dropped 0.3 per cent to 0.4 per cent for almost all categories of buildings except for timber building and timber piling, which appreciated 1.7 per cent and 1.9 per cent, respectively.
The BCI in all regions in Sabah jumped between 0.1 per cent and 3.9 per cent for almost all building categories.
For Sarawak, the BCI in all regions increased between 0.1 per cent and 1.6 per cent for almost all building categories.
— Bernama
