SRI AMAN: The Ministry of Works (KKR) and the Ministry of Health (MOH) will hold discussions to find a new mechanism to improve the implementation of all hospital construction projects in the country.
Senior Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the weakness of the implementation of the hospital building project is that the operation of the hospital has to wait a long time after the physical building is completed.
“For the future, we at the KKR and MOH level are discussing how to coordinate the work process so that the opening of the hospital does not have to wait too long after the hospital is completed.
“It should be known that when we build a hospital, there are two main components – the physical component by KKR, and the placement of equipment which are managed by MOH.
“So the weakness is at the implementation stage now and how do we want to combine so that the implementation schedule can be standardised, meaning that when the physical work is completed, all the equipment can be completed simultaneously.
“That’s an improvement that needs to be discussed together by MOH and KKR,” he said.
He said this in a press conference after officiating at the opening ceremony of the Sri Aman Multi-Level Interchange, Sri Aman Section, Work Package Contract (WPC-04) of the Pan Borneo Highway here today.
Fadillah said if the implementation is standardised later on, it can improve the hospital’s construction process.
“When physically ready, the operation can be carried out not too long, for example within a month or two,” he said.
Earlier, he also expressed his gratitude for the completion of Sri Aman II Hospital which started operations on Sept 1.
On the construction of the Petra Jaya Hospital which was previously classified as a sick project, Fadillah said that a new contractor had been appointed and now the work status is ahead of schedule.
“The Petra Jaya Hospital and all sick projects under KKR, there is no problem. There is a new contractor,” he said.
He added that there are some projects that face some challenges, especially health clinics.
“There are some that have already been approved, but after going through the value management process, it seems that the ceiling cost allocated is not sufficient.
“Therefore, MOH had to apply for additional allocations due to the situation in which the price of building materials has increased and hence the existing allocations are insufficient
“And, this is one of the challenges in making plans for all the projects under all the ministries. It means that those that have not been implemented and are in planning, are awaiting approval for additional allocations,” he pointed out.
