Barriers of Using Bamboo in The Malaysian Construction Industry

Abstract

Bamboo plant is unique and the use of these materials is widespread not only as building materials and construction scaffolding but also as element in the space of a building for the purpose of either aesthetic or the culture value of it. Green construction concept which emphasizes in using sustainable materials in the construction of buildings is an effective method and the uses are environmentally friendly. The concept of bamboo as a green, environmentally friendly material attracts architects and engineers to experiment with the plant. This research aim is to analyse the barriers faced when using bamboo materials in Malaysia from developers’ perspectives. In this paper, the methods used are structured questionnaire survey. The respondents are 20 government agencies in the developer sector and 369 developers in Selangor, Malaysia. To achieve that, 200 copies of the questionnaire were distributed to the selected organization. However, only 87 out of 200 respondents gave feedback. The data obtained were analyzed using descriptive analysis techniques and Relative Importance Index (RII). The findings revealed 10 barriers of using bamboo as building material in the Malaysia Construction Industry with the highest ranking  being Competition from other building material, refer to Table 4. The paper's results also show a few suggestions in promoting bamboo as a building material in Malaysia's construction industry.