JOHOR BARU: Many of the 222 delayed projects in the state are mostly due to technical issues which are under the purview of two government agencies with the necessary expertise, says a Johor state executive councillor.
Johor works, transportation, infrastructure and communications committee chairman Mohamad Fazli Mohamad Salleh (pic) said that all the projects were under 14 ministries but only two agencies, namely the Works Ministry and Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) had the technical know-how.
He noted that all the projects were registered under the MyProject system.
However, he said some of these projects had yet to be updated, which led to some confusion.
“Also, six projects have been removed from the MyProject system recently due to reclassification, scope and cost changes,” he told reporters yesterday.
Mohamad Fazli said that 127 of the projects were under his portfolio, with most of them involving the construction of schools, clinics and infrastructure projects.
He was asked to comment on Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi’s recent statement that more than 200 projects in Johor valued at RM10.8bil and approved under the 11th Malaysia Plan nearly a decade ago had yet to be implemented.
Onn Hafiz said these projects were approved in 2016, but have since stalled despite funds already being allocated.
Mohamad Fazli explained that he had met with the ministries to discuss reasons for the delay, adding that the state government was ready to provide assistance, especially on land and utility issues.
Several projects, including school construction under the Education Ministry, have been delegated to the Works Ministry to manage matters related to land and technical requirements.
“If any issues arise during the process, the project will be put on hold until the respective ministry resolves them,” he said.
He said each project would involve several stages namely finalising the scope and design, procurement process and construction phase.
Several other projects are at the stage of providing the acceptance letter after procurement.
Citing an example, Mohamad Fazli said the project to merge two halls for bus clearance at the Sultan Abu Bakar Complex (KSAB) was initiated in 2021. This comes under the Home Ministry.
“There are two independent halls there and presently we use only one hall and open up the other hall during congestion.
“So we planned to merge the two halls, but the project was delayed due to the scope of work,” he said, explaining that it involved detailed coordination related to design specifications, building size and facility requirements.
