TAWAU – The Tawau Hospital upgrading project will be completed by the end of this year and as of March 31, progress has reached 70%, said Deputy Works Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
He said to ensure that the remaining work on the project can be completed on time, the contractor needs to achieve the set work progress target of about 4% every month.
“The target is based on discussions with the contractor and also the monitoring measures taken by the Public Works Department (PWD) to ensure work progresses according to the set schedule.
“PWD closely monitors the mitigation plan and the progress of the contractor’s work and the performance of the contractor will also be evaluated according to the weekly work progress report,” he told reporters after checking on the project today.
Arthur said PWD will also not hesitate to issue warnings to the contractor if there are delays.
“The hospital upgrading project started in 2017 and was scheduled to be completed in 2020 at a cost of about RM210 million but the project was delayed due to the implementation of the Covid-19 movement control orders as well as land structure problems, so PWD allowed an extension of time for the contractor to complete the project.
“The MCOs led to a chain of problems such as the lack of local and foreign workers, as well as difficulties in obtaining building materials due to the closure of factories,” he said, adding that the contractor currently employs 80% local workers, reducing its reliance on foreign workers.
When the project is completed, Arthur said, the upgrading will make Tawau Hospital the largest hospital in the east coast of Sabah and a referral hospital for the surrounding districts.
He added that the new hospital building under the project will accommodate 154 beds, bringing the total number of beds at Tawau Hospital to 555, in addition to other facilities provided including six operating rooms, four endoscopy suites, 30 haemodialysis units, as well as the first hospital helipad in Sabah.
He said that his ministry would ensure that the project was completed on time as it was the government's intention to provide the best health facilities for Keluarga Malaysia so as to meet the people's expectations. – Bernama, April 20, 2022
