When is the money coming?

Star: AN abandoned ward project lies between University Malaya Medical Centre’s (UMMC) Menara Timur and the surau.
The Obstetric Paediatric Ward project, which started in 2002, has been abandoned since 2003.
The project was supposed to provide the paediatric department with a block containing nine floors and three basement floors while the obstetric department was to get a block with four floors and three basement floors (according to the notice board for the project).
The new ward was aimed at providing enough beds for patients, as there is presently an insufficient number of beds to meet demand.
Yet the project has been left alone after the base structure was completed.

UM vice-chancellor Datuk Rafiah Salim said the project was not stalled intentionally nor were there any elements of bad faith.
It was tendered with officials from both the Finance Ministry and the Works Ministry present with all the proper paperwork done.
“We started the project in good faith and expected the rest of the money to come because approval had been given under the 8th Malaysia Plan,” said Rafiah.
“The hospital is very crowded. If we could get the building completed early, we could take off some of the load from the old wing.”
Rafiah said the funds were not under the university’s control but that of the Finance Ministry and money had been allocated this time around for the project to continue.
“It’s a lot of money, that’s why there’s a lot of interest in this project. As far as the university is concerned, we would like to finish the project and not leave it as an eyesore.”

Independent engineer E.F. Lee said the practice of building the first part of a project was both foolish and unheard of in the construction industry.
“In the industry, when you start a project, you want to finish it because a few years later, the technologies and needs may have changed and the base structure would have been outdated,” said Lee.
“Starting a project when you only have partial funds, while not illegal, is very bad planning.”
In the event that a building project could not continue, Lee said, the structure would have to be protected against sulphur dioxide (acid rain) with paint or primer applied over the concrete and steel bars to prevent erosion and corrosion.
Lee said although he had not inspected the site up close, from his observation the construction looked abandoned without any mitigation or protection to the completed structures.
“Generally, the conditions in Malaysian cities are not very hazardous, but the reinforcement of steel bars is critical,” said Lee.
“By leaving it unprotected, corrosion will set in and the bars will lose strength that is critical to reinforce the concrete structure,” he added.

UMMC director Prof Dr Ikram Shah Ismail and UMMC associate professor and consultant obstetrician and gynaecologist Prof Dr Jamiyah Hassan further clarified the situation.
“The building was initiated under the 7th Malaysia Plan, with the building designed to be done in two phases because there was not enough funds in the 7th Malaysia Plan. Thus, funding for the project had to be spilled over to the 8th Malaysia Plan,” said Dr Jamiyah.
“Tender for the base structure was closed on Aug 7, 2002, and the project was undertaken and completed by the first construction company while we waited for the next part of the funding from the Finance Ministry.”
On April 22, 2004, the Finance Ministry officially told UMMC that there were not enough funds to finance the project due to the economic downturn and asked UMMC to resubmit applications for funds in the 9th Malaysia Plan instead.
Ikram said RM20mil was spent on the initial project in 2002.
The funds for the next phase include the cost of checking the structure’s safety and would take 18 months to complete from the date of commencement.