KUCHING: The Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda) has developed new implementation models and technical solutions to ensure that projects are completed on time and within cost.
Its chief executive officer Datuk Ismawi Ismuni said the state statutory body faced key challenges in the implementation of its projects.
“One key challenge was the timeline, where projects needed to be implemented on a fast-track basis, in spite of the geographical factor, where most of the projects are located in rural and remote areas.
“We need to be innovative and creative in the way we plan and implement projects because we are not implementing projects on a conventional basis, and to go through these areas are very challenging,” he said at the Challenges and Opportunities of Infrastructure Development in Borneo symposium held virtually recently.
Ismawi revealed the technical solutions that were adopted to speed up the planning stage included Lidar (Light Detection and Ranging) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) for data surveys.
“With this new technology, data survey for project design can be obtained within one or two months faster than a conventional detailed ground survey.
“Another innovation is the procurement strategy, where soil investigation (SI) works are included in the main contract.
“With these approaches, we were able to roll out many projects within a short period in line with the concept of fast-track implementation,” he revealed.
Another new implementation model is the Recoda project management system (RPMS) which is used as a project monitoring system for reporting.
“The key features of this system are its ability to capture the progress of project implementation based on real-time, interactive, and user-friendly,” he said.
Previously, Recoda held Value Assessment (VA) Labs and Value Engineering (VE) Labs for mega projects like Northern Coastal Highway and Miri-Marudi-Long Panai-Mulu roads.
“I believe Recoda is the only agency in the state to conduct the VA labs. We have invited state representatives, community leaders, relevant government agencies and the technical departments to keep inputs and feedback to determine the project scope, timeline and estimated cost.
“The feedback has helped us in fine-tuning the scope of our projects,” said Ismawi, adding that the VE labs were subsequently conducted to iron out the detailed engineering design,” said Ismawi.
