The contractor for the Kota Kinabalu International Airport (KKIA) upgrade and the related works in the vicinity is blaming the delays on the federal government for not providing continuous funding to the projects, which it said were already facing other problems as well since 2006.

This, according to Global Upline Sdn Bhd (Gusb), will further delay the projects and send costs up.

"Many things have been said in the media (about the delay)," said Gusb adviser Ting Pek Khiing. "But I did not wish to respond (before) because the people would not understand the complexity of the problems."

The company, he said, was still waiting for funding from the government. Nevertheless, the company would not rest on its laurels "despite working at a live airport where aircraft come and go".

Ting ( right ) was commenting on Transport Minister Kong Cho Ha's ting pek khiing statement in Kota Kinabalu on Monday that he was "fed up with the contractor for the delays". Kong said the Finance Ministry was fed up as well.

He also said the finance ministry and he have had "serious discussions (on the delays) with the contractor".

Ting, in response, vowed to bring up the problem of funding again with the federal government, as he had done in the past.

He urged the opposition in particular not to blame him and pointed out that they had never come to see him to get an update. "They only issue statements in the media without understanding the problems involved. Only the chief minister understands our problems."

The proposed flyover in Putatan that will go straight to Terminal One of KKIA was planned three years ago, said Ting, "but until now there's still no funding for it". Similarly, a new 5.5km RM200 million highway to connect Terminal One and Terminal Two has come to a halt after reclamation and foundation works and now awaits funding from the federal government.

Ting estimates it will take another RM40 million to complete the Putatan flyover. The related Tanjung Aru flyover, also bogged down by funding problems, is 79 percent complete. Tanjung Aru and Putatan, 1.2km apart, cost a total of RM220 million, according to Gusb figures cited by Ting.

'No delays, despite funding problems'

His plan is to have Tanjung Aru open to the public by Nov 15 although only one section would be ready by the end of October.

The de facto Gusb chief claimed that taking into account normal time extensions, the KKIA projects have so far not been delayed, despite the funding problems, but "there are no guarantees for the future".

He based his optimism on Gusb's reputation for completing projects ahead of time.

Ting reiterated that based on his 50 years in the construction industry, and his personal reputation as a "construction genius", the projects would be completed ahead of time.

He blamed the runway delays complained about so far mainly to the late delivery to the company of the horse and pony racing grounds at the end of the runway.

Citing a case in point, he said the runway and taxiway were already 86 percent complete and that work costing about RM60 million was left to be completed. He's looking at another eight months to complete the runway.

Any delay on runway work that occurs, Ting warned, would be solely due to the airport authorities giving him only four hours a day, from 1am to 5am, to carry out surfacing work on the tarmac.

Nothing much can be done in four hours

He had requested for eight hours, from 10pm to 6am, but this had been turned down on the grounds that the airport had to cater to chartered flights.

"We have the facilities and equipment, but we simply don't have the time to do as much work as we should," explained Ting. "We can't do much in four hours and if it rains, no work gets done."

He hoped that with his explanation, "everybody will pay attention to the problems that we are facing because the rakyat (people) are watching us".

The KKIA Package 11 construction covers several work areas, including reclamation from the sea for a runway and parallel taxiway extension, existing runway and taxiway rehabilitation and Terminal One and Terminal Two apron rehabilitation and expansion. The runway is being extended to 3,780 metres from the previous 792 metres.

Besides extension of time for additional EIA studies and acquisition of land belonging to the Royal Sabah Turf Club, the federal government has also given more time to Gusb for the relocation of squatters in the way of the project at Kampung Sri Tanjung, and for construction of the offshore approaching lighting system.

The KKIA Package 11 was originally scheduled for completion in April last year.