KUALA LUMPUR: The construction of 34 schools in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak will be done using the Industrialised Building System (IBS), which will see the schools completed in a mere two months and at a lower cost.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was part of the Rural Transformation Programme where the Government was committed to ensure that rural folks have access to facilities, adding that 25 schools would be built in Sabah and nine in Sarawak.

By using the IBS, contractors awarded the project were expected to take one month to transport building materials to construction sites and another month to build the schools.

Najib said should the project be successful, the Government would consider using the same system to construct other buildings such as hospitals and police stations.

"This way, we will be able to keep construction cost slow, use less labour and promote environmentally-friendly buildings.

"We will also encourage housing developers to consider using IBS for their project as this will make properties relatively cheaper, especially when it takes a shorter time to build them," he told reporters after opening the International Construction Week 2012 here Tuesday.

Najib said aside from shorter construction period, the building materials used were fire resistent, cooler, could withstand strong winds and minimise wastage as it would be customised according to project.

In his speech, the Prime Minister also stressed on how important it was for the industry to go green as the value created by a "green economy" was diverse.

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