Works Ministry orders LLM to meet Dash concessionaire, contractors

The Work Ministry has instructed the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) to immediately hold a meeting with the concessionaire and main contractor, as well as subcontractors affected by outstanding payments for the Damansara-Shah Alam Highway (Dash).

In a statement issued yesterday, the ministry said the move was to ensure that all arrears are settled as soon as possible, as directed by Caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

"The ministry is aware of the complaints of several contractors regarding late payments for Dash works.

“We are also aware of the contractors affected due to the arrears of the newly opened Sungei Besi-Ulu Kelang Elevated Expressway (Suke)," the statement said.

According to the ministry, in order to avoid confusion, the concessionaire, not the government, is responsible for all payments to the contractors.

For the two highways in question, the Dash and Suke concessionaire is Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas), the statement said.

The ministry said under the concession agreement signed, LLM has the regulatory authority to audit the budget for the highway and to intervene.

Earlier yesterday, Ismail Sabri ordered that any debt related to the Dash Highway project, which was opened recently, needs to be cleared.

He said this when commenting on the issue of alleged unpaid arrears to a number of subcontractors of the Dash project, amounting to more than RM80 million, which caused subcontractors involved in the project to experience difficulties.

The 20.1 kilometre-long Dash Highway, with 13 exits and interchanges, was opened at 12.01am last Friday.

The 13 intersections are Puncak Perdana, Alam Suria, Denai Alam, Kampung Melayu Subang, Pinggiran Subang, Subang Dua, Subang Airport, RRIM (Kwasa Damansara), Surian, Section 5 Kota Damansara, Sunway Damansara, Damansara Perdana and Penchala.

Dash connects with three major highways - the Guthrie Corridor Expressway (GCE), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Western Kuala Lumpur Traffic Dispersal Scheme (Sprint).

In a separate statement yesterday, Prolintas said Turnpike Synergy Sdn Bhd, as the main contractor appointed by Projek Lintasan Damansara-Shah Alam Sdn Bhd (PLDASH) to complete the construction of the highway project, has made payments to the Work Package Contractor (WPC).

Prolintas said payments for all claims are made after obtaining the certificate and confirmation of the lead consultant engineer and material surveyor consultant through the interim payment certificate, with the agreement of the consultant and WPC.

"Turnpike has also taken various initiatives to help WPC such as payment within 30 days compared to the 60-day contract terms and direct payment to sub-contractors, subject to the concurrence of WPC.

"(In addition) twice a month payment is made to help the cash flow of WPC and subcontractors to carry out the construction of Dash Highway successfully," Prolintas said.

According to Prolintas, since the construction of Dash is fully completed, the completion status of the Dash Highway was in the defect liability period and the final account would be issued after all WPC's final payment claims have been reviewed and certified by Turnpike, consultants and WPC.

"Any claims, alleged arrears or disputes will be studied through the stipulated processes in the contract between all parties, including the arbitration process between Turnpike and WPC," it said.

According to the statement, the subcontractor or any party claiming that there is a payment that has not been cleared by WPC should refer to the terms of the contract between WPC and the subcontractor in order to find a solution.

- Bernama

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