Johor hopes to save RM30mil

Road maintenance work to be awarded via open tender from now on

JOHOR BARU: The state government hopes to save at least RM30mil annually in road maintenance costs after it reviews the projects awarded to two private concessionaires in the state, said Johor Works, Infrastructure and Transport Committee chairman Mazlan Bujang.

Their threeyear contract, which will end in August, will not be renewed despite the option to renew it for another two years, he said.

“We have paid about RM450mil to these two companies for maintenance work in Johor.

“We now plan to hand over the duties to the Public Works Department (PWD) or a governmentlinked company (GLC) to award the projects via open tender,” he said during an interview.

Mazlan, who declined to name the two companies, said a final decision will be announced soon as discussions are underway.

He said this means that dozens of Johor contractors will be able to benefit from the move, instead of just two companies.

Asked how the PWD or GLC will be able to carry out the work, he said they will need to engage contractors to do the job and make sure they complete it on time.

“Everything will be done via tender system. We have already been informed by the Finance Ministry that all federal projects will be done via tenders,” he said, adding that the state government will only monitor its implementation.

Mazlan said he is also looking into ways to overhaul the state’s tender process, including the selling of tender documents and announcement of the winners.

“In the past the winners were only notified three days later. We want everything to be done on the same day if possible to ensure transparency,” he said, adding that for major projects worth more than RM30mil, the state government intends to have prequalifications tender process to ensure only capable contractors can bid for the job.

Asked about the RM500mil Pasir Gudang Hospital, Mazlan said the project is needed but requires some finetuning.

“First we have to check whether it really costs that much, then whether the area is suitable,” he said.

The proposed site, he said, is on a slope and requires more funds for the building of retaining walls and other infrastructure.

Mazlan said he was informed that the site is located near a quarry, which could be noisy and cause tremors.

“It’s puzzling why the groundbreaking for the project was done even before the contractor was appointed or confirmed. This was an election ploy,” he said.