Fadillah speaks to reporters during the press conference. — Photo by Jude Toyat
KUCHING (Dec 15): About five out of the 11 ‘sick’ projects in Sarawak, or 45 per cent, are due to contractors being unable to complete them primarily due to financial constraints, said Deputy Prime Minister Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof.
He told a press conference this after chairing the first Special Meeting of the Coordinator for Monitoring Sarawak State Development Programmes/Projects 2024 at the Rubber Industry Smallholders Development Authority (Risda) Sarawak office in Kota Samarahan today.
He said the 11 sick projects involved schools, as well as the Ministries of Education, Health and Rural Development, and apart from contractor-related issues, other contributing factors included implementation challenges, design adjustments due to changes and utility-related problems.
“The majority of projects that could not be completed, similar to those in Sabah and other states in Malaysia, are due to contractor issues — about 45 per cent of the problems in Sarawak involve contractors failing to finish their work, and the major issue is their financial incapability which led to project cancellations and delays,” he said.
He said based on the list from the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the Works Ministry, around 40 rescue contractors were enlisted to complete projects after the evaluation process was carried out according to the requirements for new contractors.
“There are just a few that need to be referred for termination because in their view, the contractors do not have the capability to continue the project.
“Besides financial issues, these contractors also face problems with materials that need to be transported. For instance, at a school in Lawas, it was agreed that the project would be built using IBS (Industrialised Building System). However, the IBS materials had to be brought from Kuching, which caused delays due to logistics and other factors. But the contractors are still committed to completing the project.
“These are the details we are addressing. Sometimes, materials that need to be transported from far away, logistics issues, and so on, contribute to the delays. For projects that can be completed, with the contractors’ commitment, some will be granted an Extension of Time (EOT),” he said.
Fadillah assured that efforts would be made to improve the overall implementation of projects.
“We’ve asked the implementing agencies to regularly update us on project statuses and to monitor their execution closely.
“We are also exploring how federal and state technical agencies can collaborate, especially in Sarawak, where there are numerous projects funded by both the state and federal governments,” he added.
On the meeting, Fadillah said it was part of his mandate from the Prime Minister to oversee projects in Sabah and Sarawak.
“A similar meeting was held in Sabah last week, and this is the first for Sarawak. The aim is to review reports on approved projects under various Malaysia Plans, their allocations, and to find solutions to ensure their successful implementation within budget and on time,” he explained.
Fadillah acknowledged that various challenges would be faced in the implementation of projects.
“From the reports just now, we can see that some projects from the 10th Malaysia Plan have yet to be completed due to various issues.
“It was also identified in the report from the Implementation Coordination Unit (ICU), which monitors the implementation of projects across Malaysia that in Sarawak, there are factors that have prevented these projects from being completed as efficiently as possible. However, the majority of the projects have been successfully completed.
“As of today, there are still 11 projects in Sarawak that are considered ‘sick’. We discussed the direction for these projects, some can be salvaged, while others may require referral to a committee at the ministry level to decide if the contracts should be terminated due to contractor failure, and whether re-tendering is necessary,” he said.
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