KUALA LUMPUR: Poor management by contractors accounts for 77% of the causes of delays in government projects classified as ailing, says Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi.
He said the shortcomings were mainly linked to ineffective planning and coordination of work at construction sites, insufficient manpower, and weaknesses in managing machinery and construction material supplies.
"The remaining 23% of the causes of delays are attributed to other factors affecting project implementation, including delays in utility relocation works, land acquisition issues, limited access to construction sites, constraints in construction material supplies, rising diesel prices and other technical issues," he said in the Dewan Rakyat on Tuesday (Nov 3).
Nanta was responding to a question from Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali (BN-Pekan), who asked about the number and value of ailing projects, the main causes of delays and action taken against contractors.
He also sought clarification on the implications of such delays for government expenditure and public access to facilities and services.
Nanta said that as of Oct 31, the Public Works Department (JKR) was monitoring 880 projects under construction, of which 38, or 4.32%, were classified as ailing, with a combined current project value of RM2.08bil.
“A project is classified as ailing when it experiences delays exceeding 60 days or 20% of its contractual schedule, whichever occurred first.
“The number of ailing projects had declined from a peak of 55 projects, or 6.51%, in July to 33 projects, or 3.77%, in September, before rising slightly to 38 projects in October,” he said.
Nanta said JKR was closely monitoring the 38 projects and implementing continuous intervention measures, including referring them to the Project Solving Governance (PSG) Committee to identify problems and determine appropriate recovery measures.
He said the committee, chaired by the Deputy Director-General of Public Works, would assess whether the government had fulfilled its contractual obligations and whether contractors remained capable of completing their projects.
“These obligations include resolving extension-of-time applications, variation orders, land acquisition matters, utility relocation delays and outstanding interim progress payments, subject to contractual provisions.
"Where the government has fulfilled its obligations but contractors remain unable to demonstrate the capacity to restore project performance, the projects will be referred to the Contract Coordination Panel (CCP) for consideration of contract termination," he said.
Nanta revealed that six of the 38 ailing projects had been referred to the CCP and were undergoing contract termination proceedings.
He stressed that the government would not compromise on contractors' failure to fulfil their contractual responsibilities, particularly when recovery efforts had proven ineffective.
He added that the ministry and JKR would continue strengthening monitoring and intervention measures to ensure development projects were completed according to their stipulated scope, cost and quality requirements.
