ISKANDAR PUTERI: Government agencies should distribute projects they receive among G1 class contractors, says Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said G1 contractors, which handle small-scale projects, are facing a shortage of opportunities due to an increase in the number of contractors within the same class.
"We have many agencies, such as the Johor Tenggara Development Authority here and others like the Kelantan South Development Authority (Kesedar), Central Terengganu Development Authority (Ketengah), and hundreds of other agencies.
"If they can break down the work from larger contractors into smaller ones, this will create more job opportunities for G1 contractors.
"Sometimes, large projects can be divided into smaller scopes. Instead of awarding them to large contractors, we can allocate these to G1 contractors," he said.
He said this during a press conference after officiating at the annual general meeting of the Johor Malaysian Bumiputera Class F Contractors Association (Perkobf) here.
The deputy minister also suggested that the government initiate special programmes to build more community halls in villages and suraus, which are suitable projects for G1 contractors.
On another matter, Ahmad said that to empower Bumiputera contractors from G1 to G4, an allocation of RM450mil has been provided this year for the maintenance of federal roads nationwide.
"The allocation of projects will be done through a balloting system to ensure equal opportunities for all parties," he said.
