Not enough Sabah contractors qualified for Pan Borneo job

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Fadillah with Rosnah speaking to the media yesterday.

Fadillah with Rosnah speaking to the media yesterday.

KOTA KINABALU: Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof has proposed for contractors of the Pan Borneo Highway to engage companies from outside the State, given the limited number of qualified contractors in Sabah and a deadline to meet.

“Contractors involved in the project who failed to meet the criteria set by the Works Ministry are allowed to engage in a joint venture with contractors from outside to complete the project awarded to them,” he said.

He said Sabah has a lot of quality contractors but lack the expertise in road construction.

“Therefore, we need to find a solution to assist these contractors and one is for them to collaborate with other contractors in a joint venture.

“Such collaboration will provide them with better financial, technical and other help needed,” he said.

He added that the contractors engaged must however be citizens of the country.

Fadillah pointed out that the joint venture must also be led by local contractors, considering the guideline set by the Federal government to grant 70 per cent of the project to local Sabahan contractors and the rest from outside the State.

He said a study done showed that the capability of contractors in Sabah does not meet the standards needed, and that such joint venture is a good approach.

Based on the criteria set by the ministry, he added, only 10 completely fulfilled the standard.

The project has 35 packages, but might be reduced to allow for joint ventures, as not many contractors in Sabah qualify for the project, he said.

The problem, he said, is especially true when it comes to looking for the main contractors.

PDP Sdn Bhd has been appointed as the partner responsible to look for local contractors to complete all 35 packages of the project.

However, said Fadillah, the matter is still in the evaluation stage and has yet to be decided.

“There is a timeline we need to complete the project by 2021. Setting up joint ventures is one of the measures we feel is needed in order to achieve this target,” he said.

Also present at the event was Deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin.