Contractor told to complete upgrading work on time

NST: JOHOR BARU: Work stoppages to accommodate complicated surgeries and missing technical drawings have been blamed for the delay in the upgrading of the Sultanah Aminah Hospital building here.
These were the reasons given by the contractor, Tasja Sdn Bhd, which is carrying out the RM37.5 million upgrading works. The upgrading was approved under the Eighth Malaysia Plan and was supposed to have been completed in December last year but the completion date has been extended to November.
Yesterday, Deputy Health Minister Datuk Dr Abdul Latiff Ahmad, who was briefed on the progress, told Tasja's consultant engineer Norhalim Salim that there should not be any more delays.
"The people of Johor have been deprived of the chance to enjoy the improved facilities that would result from the upgrading exercise," Abdul Latiff said.
"The contractor can give all his excuses but he has a responsibility to fulfil here."
Tasja Sdn Bhd is converting a portion of the hospital’s main building. The ground floor will house the accident and emergency unit while the first floor will comprise the high dependency ward, intensive care unit and heart surgery theatres.
Tasja is also constructing a two-storey block to house the cafeteria, visitors room and covered emergency exit.
Abdul Latiff, who surveyed the upgrading works which was more than 65 per cent completed, said work was still about four per cent behind schedule despite the extension given to the contractor.
He said the upgrading work had, however, not affected the hospital’s services.
Abdul Latiff said the upgrading of SAH had taught the ministry a lesson that the improvement of old hospitals was more difficult than building new ones.
"This is because most of these hospitals are old, with the SAH being built in 1940.
"Most of the technical drawings of the buildings showing the laying of cables have gone missing and so it’s difficult for contractors to dig the ground and carry out construction work," he explained.
He added that the government had approved RM1 billion to upgrade old hospitals under the Ninth Malaysia Plan.