The delay in completing upgrading works has worsened traffic congestion at the first roundabout in Kota Kemuning. — Filepic
THE contractor in charge of the delayed road widening works at the first roundabout in Kota Kemuning, Shah Alam, will have to pay RM715 a day until the job is completed.
Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) has decided to charge the contractor with liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) for the project that has been delayed over the last two years.
The city council’s engineering director, Cheremi Tarman, said works were only 75% complete despite the date being extended to Feb 27.
The company was given the extension after failing to comply with the original date of completion, which was Sept 10 last year.
“We realised terminating the contractor and going through the process of hiring a new one would only take up more time,” said Cheremi.
Earlier this year, the city council had contemplated terminating the contractor for failing to meet the deadline after numerous complaints from residents on social media.
Cheremi said there were three main areas of concern that had yet to be completed, including resurfacing the road, fixing the kerb as well as activating the traffic lights.
A meeting was held to discuss the LAD payment terms and other details of the project with the contractor.
Cheremi expects work on the project to be finished by the end of this month.
He had met with residents of Kota Kemuning earlier to discuss the traffic dispersal plan for the neighbourhood which includes widening works at the roundabout.
The townhall session was organised by MBSA councillor Kamarudzaman Sanusi
and attended by Kota Kemuning assemblyman V. Ganabatirau and Shah Alam deputy mayor Mohd Ruslan Rashidi.
Widening works at the roundabout are part of a traffic dispersal project to ease congestion in the growing township.
For package one of Phase 1, which
costs RM5mil, the roads will be expanded from two to three lanes and the slip roads upgraded.
Package two, costing RM15mil, will see the construction of an access road from Persiaran Anggerik Mokara to the Kesas Highway, to ease traffic congestion from Kota Kemuning to Kesas and the LKSA (Kemuning-Shah Alam Highway).
In total, Phase 1 of the project will cost MBSA RM20mil.
There have been a number of delays for the long-awaited traffic dispersal plan for the Kota Kemuning township, which has suffered from bad congestion at the roundabout during peak hours.
A flyover from Persiaran Anggerik Mokara into Persiaran Anggerik Malaxis was also initially part of the Kota Kemuning master plan but was not included in the draft plan.
Residents have been lobbying for it to be built after traffic at Persiaran Anggerik Mokara increased.
