PETALING JAYA: Hartanah Kenyalang Bhd’s wholly owned subsidiary, Hartanah Construction Sdn Bhd, has received a letter of award from the Public Works Department (PWD) under the Ministry of Works to design and build a prison in Sibu, Sarawak, for RM275.3 million.
The contract period for the new prison is 36 months, commencing on Feb 9, and targeted for handover to the PWD by Feb 8, 2029.
To recap, Malaysia’s prison development and management budget is allocated as specific amounts within the annual national budgets and is primarily managed by the Home Affairs Ministry.
Recent budgets have focused on new construction, facility upgrades and rehabilitation programmes to address overcrowding in Malaysian prisons. One of the specific allocations for prison development mentioned in Budget 2026 includes the construction of a prison in Sibu.
The new facility, which can house up to 1,000 inmates, will replace an ageing, overcrowded prison built in 1918, with an existing capacity of up to 450 inmates.
The Home Affairs Ministry has approved the construction of the new prison at an estimated RM300 million.
Hartanah Kenyalang executive director and managing director Seah Boon Tiat said the company is grateful that the PWD has given it this opportunity to participate in building the Sibu Prison to assist the Home Affairs Ministry in resolving the overcrowded situation in the existing prison.
“This Sibu prison will be equipped with modern facilities and equipment that not only improve the living conditions and welfare of inmates but also the working environment of Sibu prison officers.
“This award represents the largest contract secured by our company in our 12 years of operating history in the construction industry in Sarawak.
“The award of this contract signifies a major breakthrough for our company’s design and build team, proving our capabilities to expand in the construction of different types of buildings from commercial shophouses and dilapidated schools, to institutional buildings such as the Yayasan International secondary schools, Sarawak Stadium, State Archive building and the Sibu prison.
“We are always mindful to continuously innovate and explore new construction methods to expand our design and build services capabilities so as to capture a wider range of clients in today’s competitive construction industry, complemented by the use of building information modelling application,” he said in a statement.
Seah also said Hartanah Kenyalang has secured a RM42.8 million contract to build an immigration post and quarters in Serikin, Bau, Sarawak and a RM184.3 million contract to repair and upgrade Sarawak Stadium.
“Coupled with the winning of the RM275.3 million contract to build the Sibu prison, the total unbilled order book of our company has increased from about RM142.5 million as at March 31, 2025, to RM567.7 million as at Jan 30, 2026.
“The sharp increase in our company’s unbilled order book signifies our management’s countless efforts to continuously bid for various types of institutional building projects from different government bodies. The unbilled order book value of RM567.7 million also signifies the highest value of ongoing contracts in Hartanah Kenyalang’s operating history,“ Seah said.
