Court complex cost $7.6m more because of delays

Court complex cost $7.6m more because of delays

KUALA LUMPUR - The construction of the Bandar Indera Mahkota court complex in Kuantan was delayed for 560 days because of the limited time given to prepare the building's documentation, said Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof.

He said the court complex, which came under the government's second Economic Plan Package, was given only 28 days to document its tender and structural drawing.

"Normally, the preparations for designs, drawings and contract documents require between six months and nine months.

"The Public Works Department (PWD) then used a provisional quantity without a detailed drawing to expedite the implementation of the project."

He was responding to the 2013 Auditor-General's Report, which revealed that the delays in the construction of the court complex had increased its cost by RM19.56 million (S$7.56 million).

Fadillah added that the delays were because of the four permitted EOTs (extension of time) given to the project contractor.

The EOT was given due to inclement weather.

He said the increased cost was also due to 21 work-change orders and 11 contract price adjustments that had to be carried out, pushing the price of the project up to RM176.9 million, an increase of 12 per cent.

"The approved changes in work involved technical repairs, re-measurements and price adjustment."

On Monday, the Auditor-General's Report also stated the cost increase was because of poor planning in design and scope of works.

Commenting on 275 defects in the building, Fadillah said PWD had awarded a five-year contract to a company to maintain the building from March 1 this year to Feb 28, 2019.

"All the defects, including 41 major ones, had been repaired in stages in the defect liability period before Feb 20 this year."

The ministry, he said, had taken steps to ensure construction projects were planned prior to implementation, regular maintenance was carried out and PWD officers monitored and supervised the projects.

Consultants should ensure a comprehensive review was carried out before the drawings (as-built) were finalised while internal audits would be held periodically, he added.

The ministry and PWD would carry out the recommendations stated in the report, he said.

 

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