The Defence Ministry should drop National Defence Education Centre (Puspahanas) contractor Awan Megah Sdn Bhd as it failed to complete the project on time
The firm owned by Selangor Wanita Umno leader Senator Raja Datuk Ropiaah Abdullah was awarded the contract for the project in 2005 in exchange for some 80 hectares of land in Bukit Raja, Selangor and RM27 million.
The checks with the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) showed that the project in Precinct 1, Putrajaya was originally planned to be completed by January 24, 2011.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi confirmed yesterday that the project will now only be completed in mid-2015, four years after the original deadline.
They planned to commence construction only on October 1, 2010, but even that was delayed..
The project had been planned to commence on September 25, 2008 but was subsequently delayed. Works only began in August 2012, according to construction workers interviewed at Puspahanas’ construction site.
We also highlighted the RM72.5 million performance bond agreed to between the developer and the ministry during the privatisation deal, which expired on February 3, 2011.
The performance bond is valued as a company’s total financial commitment to a project, subject to the developer completing the project before the bond expires.
By right, the Defence Ministry has every right to liquidate the bond and appoint a new contractor to finish the project..
That is as good as forfeiting RM72.5 million.
When visited the Puspahanas site on Monday, we saw that the project remains uncompleted beyond some building frames out of the original 12 planned, hidden by a bank of white zinc wall panels.
Fewer than 10 construction workers clad in yellow hard hats could be seen working on various areas of the project, which is going ahead albeit very slowly.
Zahid conceded yesterday that the project is well overdue, and blamed a land swap deal gone wrong instead of the developer.
“Right now, Puspahanas in Putrajaya is in the construction phase. We’ve been monitoring it because it is a privatisation deal,” he told reporters.
“Progress reports have been delivered to me, and we have targeted its completion date. We target a completion date of mid-2015, at the very latest.”
comments
The contractor should be fined at least RM5000 PER DAY for the delay if it is a NORMAL Contract?? This is CLEARLY a Lu tolong gua, gua tolong lu UMNOputra DIRTY DEAL!! and then WHERE ARE U MACC????
MACC only belongs to UMNO le...no point asking them to do their work as they will always clean up the mess created by Umno Cronies...
these BN morons must think the people are so stupid to believe their mindless excuses, and i wonder if our defence minister felt stupid giving such a lame excuse to cover up such incompetence. All its gonna do is set a precedent for other incompetent contractors..
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