In an open tender exercise, HSL has successfully been awarded a new MARA Junior Science College campus contract in Bintulu worth a sum of RM101.19 million.
KUCHING: Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) yesterday announced it had received a Letter of Acceptance for a new MARA Junior Science College campus contract in Bintulu.
The project, a proposed construction and completion of Maktab Rendah Sains Mara (MRSM) on Lot 1229, Block 37, Kemena Land District, Bintulu, Sarawak, has been procured by HSL in an open tender exercise for the contract sum of RM101.19 million, with Petroliam Nasional Bhd (Petronas) as its employer and KLCC Projeks Sdn Bhd (KLCCP) as the project manager.
In a press statement, HSL explained that MRSM Petronas in Bintulu will be the fourth MRSM for Sarawak, with existing colleges already built in Kuching, Mukah and Betong.
Petronas initiated the Mara Junior Science College (MRSM) as part of its Corporate Social Investment programme in the area of education and human capital.
“This is a pleasing contract win for us and evidence that investments in Sarawak’s future are forging ahead,” said HSL’s managing director Dato Paul Yu Chee Hoe.
“Securing a project of this considerable size at this juncture is significant for HSL and augurs well for our ongoing status as a leading construction firm in the state, while dispelling any negativity on the general outlook for the construction industry.
“Added to the RM3 billion worth of projects we have in hand, this new project brings us to a record high order book of RM3.1 billion with some RM2.5 billion outstanding,” Yu added.
Works for MRSM Petronas Bintulu are expected to commence next month, September 2018, and be completed in 36-months.
The 40-acre site will cater to up to 450 students and involve academic blocks, science laboratories, student hostels, a multipurpose hall, sports facilities, living quarters for staff and a surau.
Establishment of the school advances the government’s agenda to foster greater interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) subjects and provide the necessary human resources for the digital economy Sarawak seeks to embrace.
Situated on hilly terrain, the low rise campus will require retaining structures and a considerable amount of earth works, mostly of a cut and fill nature. External works account for some 30 per cent of the contract sum.
“We will be drawing on our geotechnical and civil engineering expertise as well as our construction capabilities for the works.
Besides construction of the various academic buildings, residences and amenities, there are also significant components of piling, mechanical and electrical works,” Yu noted.
Yu also highlighted that the company was busy executing contracts across the state of Sarawak and with its mega projects now running well, HSL expected improved financial outcomes through 2018 and beyond. “While our projects in hand stretch for several years, we are continuing to vie for new contracts such as this one, where we can leverage on our earthworks expertise and heavy machinery portfolio,” said Yu.
HSL has a track record in Bintulu having completed works for other educational institutions, mass affordable housing, numerous road works and construction projects in the past few years.
“We are privileged to be involved in Petronas’s MRSM project which will have far-reaching benefits to the youth of Bintulu and its hinterland, giving them better access to educational opportunities that are tailored to the technological demands of the jobs of the future,” he added.