Only 48 pct allocation for govt projects utilised - minister
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said only 48.48 percent or RM33.4 billion of the allocation for government development projects has been spent as of Aug 26.
He noted that the amount spent has yet to reach half of the year’s allocation for the purpose, despite the fact that it is already September...
Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) Mustapa Mohamed said only 48.48 percent or RM33.4 billion of the allocation for government development projects has been spent as of Aug 26.
He noted that the amount spent has yet to reach half of the year’s allocation for the purpose, despite the fact that it is already September.
“This has become an issue for the government as we want to revitalise the economy, but there are many factors that had affected performance, such as the Covid-19 pandemic.
“However, the government, via the Works Ministry and the Public Works Department, has taken several proactive steps to accelerate the development projects,” said Mustapa (above).
The minister was speaking to reporters after a briefing on the upgrading of the National Sports Council’s 14-storey dormitory and podium today.
The visit was in line with Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s aim to have regular monitoring of developments at the grassroots level, following the reopening of the country's economy.
Meanwhile, Mustapa said from January to July this year, the value of government and private sector’s development projects fell to RM32 billion from RM62 billion recorded in the same period last year.
“The construction sector declined by 44.5 per cent, which is a huge contraction, and our economy also contracted by 17.1 per cent during the second quarter of the year (Q2 2020).
“We hope that the sector will recover in Q3 and Q4 this year through steps taken by the PWD, such as speeding up the issuance of the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) to allow the project to start. This used to take up to eight months, but has now been shortened to three to four months,” he said.
Mustapa said as of June this year, 251 project development tenders worth RM7 billion have been issued, while another 133 are still pending.
“It is hoped that the LoA for the 251 projects can be issued by year-end to allow the projects to start, and this will help to accelerate the country’s economic growth,” he said.
Commenting on the RM10 million project to upgrade the 14-storey dormitory which could accommodate 350 people, as well as the three-storey podium, he said the project is expected to be fully completed by Oct 30 this year. - Bernama
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