The government through the Works Ministry is committed to completing 223 units of the more than 1,000 houses under the construction of permanent houses for flood victims project throughout the country by July.

Its minister, Fadillah Yusof, said the ministry targeted to build 2,000 units for flood victims in the affected states of Perak, Pahang, Terengganu, and Kelantan. Of this number, 500 units will be built by the Kelantan government.

"Under this project, as of June 1, 33 houses were completed by the federal government, 309 are under construction and another 237 units in the pre-construction stage.

"The breakdown for the number of houses which have been built are 11 in Kelantan, (14) Pahang, (two) Terengganu and six in Perak," he said at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Earlier, he presented Excellent Service Awards to 866 recipients comprising staff of the ministry, Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) and the Malaysian Highway Authority.

    

Fadillah stressed that the government was committed to completing the houses but was facing constraints which slowed down the construction.

He said although the task of the ministry was only to build the houses, there were about 600 houses with land issues, including those whose status was doubtful, whether they were owned by the family or not.

"There were also those who reside on government land such as near railway tracks and so on, where the ownership is unclear," he said.

Commenting on the construction of highways in the country, Fadillah said these were going on as planned, such as the Pan Borneo Highway Project in Sarawak and Sabah, scheduled for completion in 2023.

"The construction of the Pan Borneo Highway in Sarawak has started, while Sabah is finalising the appointment of companies as concessionaires.

"In the case of the West Coast Expressway, part of the works in Perak have been carried out, specifically in Teluk Intan while in Selangor, we are still finalising several alignments due to the local residents's disagreement to the alignments," he said.

He added that the Central Spine Road (CSR) project was also being carried out in stages with certain parts completed while some sections would be tendered out and others in the planning stage.

In the case of the East Coast Expressway (LPT2), Fadillah said it had been completed but the ministry was finalising the appointment of the company which would maintain and operate it.

"This means that all the regions have new highways which will add to the comfort and safety of highway usage, open new economic opportunities for the construction industry, and generate economic activities for the local communities," he said.

- Bernama