Positioning Malaysia’s National BIM e-Submission (NBeS) within Global BIM-Based Building Permitting: A Comparative Review

Abstract

Comparative studies of BIM-based permitting often conflate electronic submission, model exchange, automated checking and statutory approval, obscuring differences in implementation evidence. This qualitative documentary review positions Malaysia’s National BIM e-Submission (NBeS) alongside ten purposively selected international jurisdictions. Eighteen attributable evidence records were examined through directed content analysis across technical-information, organisational, regulatory-legal and administrative dimensions, followed by non-ordinal cross-case synthesis. Findings distinguish Singapore’s phased CORENET X requirements, South Korea’s prototype, Estonia’s semi-automated checking and Germany’s authority-level survey from Malaysia’s NBeS pilots and technical guidance. CIDB Malaysia (2020) reported a simulated approval-time reduction from 50 to 15 days (70%) and a separate 92% pilot-evaluation score, while Husam et al. (2026) reported a reduction from 58 to 39 days, 35% improved error detection and seven model-checking examples. These findings reflect distinct evaluation contexts rather than verified nationwide outcomes. The review positions Malaysia’s NBeS within international BIM-based permitting through a source-traceable comparison of four non-ordinal evidence categories: development, pilot validation, reported operational use and institutional/legal provisions. It highlights CIDB Malaysia’s documented efforts and identifies evidence needs for NBeS assessment and One Stop Centre (OSC) procedures without implying a validated maturity model.