ViTrox to begin construction of training and industrial research centre after RM46 mil contract award to SIB

• The facility will have a floor area of 166,300 square feet and will be located beside the current ViTrox Campus 3.0 in Batu Kawan Industrial Park (BKIP), Penang, and is on part of the 21-acre piece of land acquired by the company in June 2021.

KUALA LUMPUR (July 1): ViTrox Corp Bhd (KL:VITROX) will begin construction of the first block of its planned five-block ViTrox Institute of Technology (VIT) on July 8 after it had appointed South Island Building Sdn Bhd (SIB) as the contractor for the project in a deal worth RM45.99 million.

The proposed construction is expected to be completed within 18 months, which is by Jan 7, 2026.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia on Monday, Vitrox said its wholly-owned subsidiary ViTrox Technologies Sdn Bhd had awarded the contract to SIB for the earthwork, piling and main building works for the construction of a five-storey training and industrial research centre.

The facility will have a floor area of 166,300 square feet and will be located beside the current ViTrox Campus 3.0 in Batu Kawan Industrial Park (BKIP), Penang, and is on part of the 21-acre piece of land acquired by the company in June 2021.

"It is aligned with ViTrox’s 10-year expansion master plan (2021-2030), centered around the idea of building a local high-technology ecosystem at the BKIP through collaborative efforts between the private sector, the government and institutions of higher learning," ViTrox said.

ViTrox said the entire ecosystem will include a high-tech automation, robotics, and AI innovation park, ViTrox’s Innovation Park, comprising large local companies with research and development facilities, centers of excellence, advanced manufacturing facilities, tech startups, and an institute of technologies.

"In addition to attending lectures, a pool of 3,000 to 4,000 talents will work alongside engineers to solve real-world engineering problems and address the talent shortage, particularly in engineering and computer sciences, where there is a clear mismatch between the training and skills acquired by graduates and industry requirements," it said.

Furthermore, ViTrox said the VIT represents a significant step towards addressing the talent shortage in the STEM fields, particularly for the semiconductor industry. "This expansion will increase ViTrox’s current capacity from an annual intake of 200 students to 450 students, significantly enhancing the ability to grow the local talent pool," it added.

As it stands, ViTrox has already established its own college in 2020, dubbed ViTrox College, which has obtained the Malaysian Qualifications Agency (MQA) accreditation to offer diploma courses in electronics, mechatronics and machine vision engineering.

ViTrox College offers work-based learning diploma and Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) courses.

At Monday’s market close, Vitrox shares were down three sen or 0.73% at RM4.09, giving the group a market capitalisation of RM7.74 billion. Year to date, the counter has risen 14.25%.

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