KUCHING: The contractor for the Petra Jaya Hospital will have to pay RM89,506.85 per day in Liquidated Ascertained Damages (LAD) starting from June 10 this year until the project is completed.
According to a statement from the Public Works Department (PWD), damages were imposed as construction on the hospital was supposed to be completed by June 9. The contractor so far has incurred a sum of RM9,219,205.55 for a delay of 103 days.
On Aug 7, the PWD had issued a notice to end the service of the contractor for continuous failure to complete the project as scheduled. The contractor however committed to continue and finish the project by June 30 next year. This was allowed by the National Development Projects Intervention Committee on Aug 10.
“PWD is now monitoring closely the works’ progress against the monthly financial target as promised by the contractor. Should the contractor fail to meet the monthly target promised by November 2017, stern action will be taken by the government accordingly and as per the terms of the contract,” the department said.
Meanwhile, the PWD has pinpointed several reasons behind the delay in the Sri Aman Hospital project. Among them was the site’s soil profile which required a change in the design of the foundation and thus, additional time to complete the work.
There were also modification and additional works required to meet the requests of the Fire and Rescue Department.
PWD agreed to grant a time extension to the contractor due to these technical reasons. It was emphasised that the extension will be given on firm justification and based on the terms of the contract.
Poor management by the contractor in terms of planning and implementing the work was also another factor behind the delay. The department however gave its assurance that it is closely monitoring the project’s progress and will take immediate action in every aspect to hasten the completion of the hospital.
The project is also now being monitored by Jawatankuasa Kerja Tindakan Negara (JKTN) which has set a minimum target of 4.5 per cent work progress per month, failing which stern action will be taken against the contractor.
On Sept 18, Democratic Action Party (DAP) Stampin MP Julian Tan told a press conference that the RM500 million Petra Jaya Hospital project was less than half completed and 318 days behind schedule, while the Sri Aman Hospital project was delayed by 218 days and only 31 per cent complete as of June 30, far behind the scheduled 56 per cent completed.
