The Kedah state government is terminating the contractor's services for the Sungai Limau Water Treatment Plant project in Baling after it failed to complete the project on time.

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said all government projects must adhere to standard operating procedures (SOPs) and regulations stipulated by law.

"We have followed the contractor termination process as law and regulations require. Every government project adheres to procurement SOPs and legal provisions.

"The contractor participated in an open tender and was selected through the open tender system, not appointed by the government.

“However, after winning the tender, certain issues arose, and they failed to complete the work," he told reporters yesterday.

He was responding to Energy Transition and Water Transformation Deputy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir's statement on Tuesday, who expressed concerns over the project, which is believed to have shown no progress since July last year.

During his third visit to the project site yesterday, Akmal said that none of the required components had been completed despite the project commencing in 2021.

Sanusi added that the water treatment plant project is not the only one facing issues with contractors failing to complete work on schedule. Other projects, such as flood mitigation plans, have also encountered similar problems in the past.

Nevertheless, he said that when dealing with problematic contractors, their termination must follow SOPs since their appointments were made legally through an open tender process.

- Bernama