Labuan healthcare staff quarters project contract teminated

LABUAN: The Labuan healthcare staff quarters project, costing RM24 million, has come to a standstill as the contractor failed to adhere to the agreedupon work schedule, said Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

Initiated in early 2022, the project’s progress has lagged significantly, reaching only 23 percent completion with a 31 percent delay.

He expressed the necessity of terminating the contract, citing the project’s crucial importance to healthcare staff in Labuan.

“The contract, awarded on Dec 1, 2022, will now undergo a retendering process, with an anticipated increase in project costs overseen by the Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

“The project was initially awarded at RM24 million. Certainly, after the retendering process, the cost will be increased,” he told reporters after the handing over ceremony of the Upgrading Existing Space into Sterile Pharmacy Project at Labuan Hospital.

The deputy minister said the project was originally slated for completion on June 29, 2023 but now faces an uncertain timeline, with its progress halted in January 2024.

The Labuan healthcare staff quarters project, situated on an eight-acre site in Membedai Jalan Tanjung Teras, adjacent to the Membedai Health Clinic and Labuan Health Department headquarters, aims to provide a conducive residential environment for healthcare employees.

The project encompasses four units of class D semidetached houses, one five-storey apartment block (Block F) with 18 units, and another five-storey block (Block G) with 16 units.

In a positive development, Ahmad Maslan commended the Labuan Public Works Department (PWD) and the contractor for the timely completion of the RM6.6 million Upgrading Existing Space into Sterile Pharmacy Project at Labuan Hospital. Meanwhile, Ahmad Maslan also addressed the delayed RM26.8 million Bebuloh Health Clinic project, initiated in Nov 2019.

“After being retendered, a new contractor has been appointed, with a projected completion period of 156 weeks, targeting January 2027,” he said.

The health clinic, originally part of the 10th Malaysia Plan, has transitioned to the 11th Malaysia Plan and will encompass the main building and 16 units of class F quarters. It aims to provide Type 5 health services, including pharmaceutical and dental services, a sick bay, outpatient treatment services, and maternal and paediatric healthcare services.