KUCHING, Dec 18: A cement and stone supply shortage is hampering the progress of housing development projects in the State’s Southern Zone.
According to Deputy Minister of Public Health, Housing and Local Government (MPHLG) Michael Tiang, this has caused some developers to experience severe cash-flow problems.
“The ensuing problems is faced by a lot of contractors as the projects undertaken were halted and delayed due to the shortage of cement supply.
“In some cases, it carried serious implications on the imposition of penalty by their respective employers,” he said, according to a statement by the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak (ACCCIS) today.
Tiang said this when hosting a dialogue-cum-luncheon jointly organised by ACCCIS, Sarawak Housing and Real Estate Developers’ Association (Sheda), Sarawak Master Builders Federation (SMBF) and CMS Cement Industry Sdn Bhd last Thursday (Dec 15).
Tiang also pledged to look into the problems with the hope that the supply chains for these critical building materials would return to normalcy soon.
Excessive queuing time for accepting cement deliveries at the supplier’s depot and the looming revision for cement prices by the wholesaler were also among the issues discussed during the dialogue session.
During the luncheon, all participants shared and discussed issues encountered by the construction and property development sectors due to the recent shortage of cement.
Apart from that, they were also updated on the latest development pertaining to cement supply by CMS Cement Industry Sdn Bhd head of commercial J T Choong. — DayakDaily
