Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction industry in Malaysia: case study on Pulau Pinang

The Movement Control Order (MCO) took effect on March 18, 2020. The MCO has impacted Malaysian sectors, particularly construction. When workers are at risk due to COVID-19, numerous sectors are "working from home." However, construction projects have job sites to manage in the current COVID-19 situation. Due to that reason, the contractor is the most impacted party during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, due to the cessation of work on construction sites during the pre-and post-lockdown. The overall aim of this research is to highlight the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Malaysian construction industry. By identifying the challenges and determining the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction projects in Malaysia, this research provides the proposed appropriate action to be taken by construction stakeholders to resolve difficulties faced by the contractors during the COVID-19 Pandemic. This research was conducted using the quantitative method via a questionnaire survey. A total of 308 questionnaires have been distributed to grade G4 until G7 contractors in Pulau Pinang through a random sampling method and 101 have been returned. The data were collected and evaluated by using the Statistical Package for the Social Science (SPSS) version 28 software. From the findings, it was found that most of the respondents agreed with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on construction projects in Malaysia especially in Pulau Pinang are reduction of waste. Due to these barriers, the respondents also agreed with the recommendation to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on construction projects are offsite working practices. The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the Malaysian construction industry, particularly for contractors who have faced work stoppages and challenges. This research aims to identify these effects and propose appropriate actions to resolve difficulties faced by contractors, with findings indicating a reduction of waste as a positive impact of the pandemic on construction projects in Pulau Pinang.