KUALA LUMPUR: The Tawau Hospital Construction and Upgrading project is 69pc completed as of January 31 this year compared with the schedule of 96pc, said Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
He was replying to Tawau MP Datuk Christina Liew who wanted to know the progress of works and whether the project will be completed this year as it is behind schedule. It was supposed to have been completed in May 2020 under the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP, 2016-2020).
In his written reply to Liew this week, Khairy said : “This project started on May 30, 2017 with the original completion date on May 25, 2020, and has been given an extension of time until April 8, 2022.
“Nevertheless, the contractor has problems in implementing the project where the actual physical progress was 69pc as of January 31, 2022 compared with 96pc as scheduled.
“Therefore, JKR Malaysia is monitoring the implementation of the project to take further action.”
The construction and upgrading project involves construction of a new hospital building equipped with six operating theatres, an endoscopy room and wards as well as equipment like CT Scan and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) for the Emergency Department and Radiology Department. A helipad would also be built, according to a 2016 media report quoting the Health Ministry’s then Secretary-General Datuk Dr Chen Chaw Min.
The project (Design and Build), which was approved by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department under Rolling Plan 1 of the 11MP, was announced by former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in 2016.
