By Dr Zafira Nadia Maaz and Teoh Shu Jou

At the recent International Construction Week (ICW 2025), one discussion resonated far beyond the exhibition halls: Malaysia’s digital construction ambition is outpacing its ability to govern data.

While the industry continues to adopt Artificial Intelligence (AI), Building Information Modelling (BIM) and automation, the success of these tools depends on a less visible but crucial foundation:

Digital data governance. In the construction sector where data flows daily between contractors, consultants and clients, the absence of consistent governance breeds inefficiency, duplication and mistrust.

Conversations at ICW 2025 rekindled attention on this often-overlooked enabler.

Stakeholders and policymakers revisited four recurring themes, including return on investment, data security, data ownership and workforce readiness, revealing digital progress will remain fragmented until Malaysia builds a data governance culture that aligns people, processes and technology seamlessly.

These themes reflect a crucial dimension of Malaysia’s digital construction maturity. The themes form a blueprint for how digital data governance can shift the industry from fragmented adoption to coherent transformation.

When governance is in place, technology investments translate into measurable impact, trust grows through transparency, ownership becomes clear, and people are empowered to lead with data.

Turning digital investments into measurable value

Digital tools are increasingly adopted across Malaysian construction projects, yet many firms still treat digitalisation as a cost rather than a long-term investment.

Technologies such as AI, BIM and Digital Twins often end as pilots without measurable continuation. Digital data governance provides the missing structure.

By setting common standards and performance indicators for productivity, cost, and sustainability outcomes, firms can quantify digital return on investment (ROI).

Once the value of digitalisation is transparent, organisations can justify funding, attract partners, and scale innovations confidently turning technology from an expense into a strategic growth asset aligned with the Thirteenth Malaysia Plan.

AI can deliver powerful insights, but only when the data behind it is accurate, secure and trustworthy. That insight points to subsequent data security challenge.

Without consistent protection, data quickly shifts from asset to liability. Robust digital data governance policies clarify who can access what, how information is stored, and under what standards it is shared.

Embedding transparency and cybersecurity throughout project lifecycles ensures compliance with national data regulations while safeguarding client and stakeholder trust.

As Malaysia seeks to position itself as a trusted digital construction hub, governance will determine whether project data becomes a national advantage or a persistent vulnerability.

In a data intensive sector, ownership of data defines both control and value. One of the most pressing ICW takeaways was the question of who owns project data when it is shared among consultants, contractors and clients.

Without clear rights, valuable insights risk being lost or misused, discouraging collaboration and innovation.

CIDB Malaysia and the Ministry of Works can lead the way by formalising ownership clauses as an extension of current efforts on national construction data repository.

This initiative would safeguard Malaysia’s data assets and support the development of home-grown AI models, reinforcing the nation’s digital sovereignty as a broader AI agenda.

Empowering people to uphold governance

Technology adoption is not merely a technical challenge; it is, above all, a human one.

While fears of AI replacing jobs persist, ICW 2025 conversations underscored that technology will reshape and not remove professional stakeholder’s relevance.

Malaysia’s workforce training still focuses heavily on traditional site skills, with limited emphasis on data analytics, cybersecurity and AI ethics.

A Digital Construction Talent Roadmap, integrating university education, professional certification and continuous upskilling, can close this gap.

When workers understand how to handle and secure data responsibly, they evolve from passive tool users into active enablers of governance, ensuring digital transformation remains inclusive, ethical, and future ready.

And strong data governance delivers benefits far beyond compliance. It ensures that every piece of project information, from design files to carbon data, being accurate, secure and retrievable when needed.

Well-governed digital data enables reliable project-cost tracking, risk analysis and AI-driven predictions. When information becomes interoperable across systems, construction organisations can unlock predictive insights, reduce waste and enhance decision-making speed.

In this way, data governance becomes the infrastructure of innovation, turning digitalisation into measurable business value.

The way forward

Malaysia’s construction industry stands at a defining moment.

The message from ICW 2025 is clear: Technology alone will not transform the industry but digital data governance will.

By embedding data governance into national policy, education and project-delivery frameworks, Malaysia can build a digital construction ecosystem that is efficient, transparent and globally competitive.

Ultimately, governing data is not a technical exercise. Instead, it is an act of nation building.

The sooner we treat data governance as the cornerstone of AI transformation, the closer we come to a future where digital construction truly reflects Malaysia’s capacity, integrity and vision.

-- BERNAMA

Dr Zafira Nadia Maaz is a Construction Data Specialist and Senior Lecturer at Universiti Malaya, focusing on data governance and AI-driven transformation in the construction industry.

Teoh Shu Jou is a PhD researcher at Universiti Malaya, exploring data governance and digital practices shaping Malaysia’s evolving construction landscape.

They may be contacted at zafiranadia@um.edu.my