Since the start of the full lockdown from June 1, the supply chain has been disrupted, said Master Builders Association Malaysia (MBAM) president Sufri Mhd Zin.

“Quarries were not allowed to operate, the supply of building materials such as aggregates had decreased and the few ready-mixed concrete batching plants allowed to operate cannot meet the concrete demand by contractors.

“The critical construction projects that are still in operation throughout this lockdown are facing low stock rate in the supply chain,” he said in a statement.

Sufri said the industry was informed that quarry operators were only allowed to supply building materials from their existing stockpile, with blasting and extraction activities being barred.

“Currently, only 10% of the steel and cement players’ workforce are allowed, and they are idling or doing maintenance work, with no actual production operations.

“The steel and cement players are critical in the supply chain of the construction industry, supplying steel and cement products to critical infrastructure projects like the MRT, LRT3 and ECRL.

“With nearly one month’s stoppage in production, the supply chain to the above critical projects and other projects will be disrupted,” he added.

The MBAM strongly urges the government to allow the construction industry’s supply chain to operate again.