Prolintas to give full cooperation to authorities following SUKE crane collapse

PETALING JAYA: Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas) says it will give its full cooperation to the authorities after a crane collapsed at the Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (SUKE) construction site that took the lives of three people.

Prolintas chief executive officer Datuk Mohammad Azlan Abdullah said from the first day Prolintas was responsible to develop this project, it had always cared about the safety aspect given that over 90% of the SUKE alignment involved work at high altitudes and on existing roads with high-capacity traffic.

"We will strive to work as a team and our objectives are very clear, that is to ensure that this project is built in the safest way, it is completed timely and in accordance with the highest standards of engineering practice.

“However, the incident that happened today is very sad and Prolintas will provide full cooperation to the authorities, as well as will continue to improve the process and implementation of the project," he said in a statement on Monday (March 22).

Prolintas also expressed its condolences to the families of the victims. A crane collapsed at the SUKE construction site on Monday morning at Puncak Bayan, Persiaran Alam Damai, Cheras, killing three foreign workers. A Malaysian driver was gravely injured after his vehicle was crushed by the crane. Two workers were rescued.

According to Prolintas, as the concessionaire for the SUKE Highway project, it has always taken appropriate steps to ensure the safety of workers and the public. The project is scheduled for completion at the end of this year.

Contractors have been reminded to comply with the standard operating procedures (SOP), as well as take appropriate measures in terms of safety, said Prolintas.

"Among them is by holding a 'tool box' session or daily safety briefings every day before work starts as well as to have emergency rescuers training with the relevant security bodies on a regular basis," it said.

Prolintas noted that the Traffic Management Plan that is approved by the relevant authorities such as Lembaga Lebuhraya Malaysia and the local authorities can be obtained and implemented for the safety of road users.

It also said the construction of SUKE involves nine main contractors, as well as the involvement of independent consulting engineers in creating the design, supervision and oversight from various aspects.

Prolintas also said it has its own internal team consisting of experienced engineers in monitoring the work done by the contractors involved.

It added there are also weekly safety audits conducted to assess the work as well as the compliance with safety and health SOP, which are monitored directly by them.

A stop-work order had been issued following the incident.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the safety plan would be audited.