Buck up or face termination, Padawan road contractor told

KUCHING: The main contractor of the proposed upgrading of Padawan road has been told to buck or face possible termination of the contract.

Assistant Minister of Infrastructure and Ports Development Datuk Julaihi Narawi said the state government did not want to terminate any contractor but it could be considered as a last resort.

He said at the moment they are giving the contractor a chance to prove they are capable of doing the work.

“If they can offer good price in the open tender, they must be able to execute the works on the ground. There must be a balance — not one part good and the other bad,” he told a press conference at Kpg Mundai near here a er a site visit yesterday. Tarat assemblyman Datuk Roland Sagah was also present.

Earlier, he was briefed by the Public Works Department (JKR) on the progress of the road upgrading project.

Julaihi said the 29 per cent delay in the project implementation was not good for the government-funded project, which started sometime in 2020. It is 298 days behind schedule as at Sept 30 this year.

Julaihi requested the contractor to present an effective, efficient and realistic catch-up plan to the JKR regional office immediately to prevent any further delay.

He also reminded the contractor not to give them ‘flowery’ catch-up plan but a weekly report on the project progress.

“If they can submit the catch plan tomorrow it’s be er. I am serious because we don’t want the delay to create public perception that JKR and the state government are not doing anything. We (the government) care because we finance the project, it’s meant for the people,” he said.

Julaihi said if the contractor failed to deliver the project before or on Nov 13, 2022, JKR would know what to do.

“Penalty is definite and termination is the last resort. These are all incorporated in the contract agreement,” he said.

The state government wants to upgrade the existing Padawan road at a cost of about RM34.9 million, due to a combination of poor horizontal and vertical alignment.

The tar-sealed road is about 5.5m wide inclusive of marginal strips of 0.5m on each side.

It connects several villages, schools, clinics, and government offices. It passes through rolling, hilly land with rubber, fruit and pepper gardens at both sides of the road.