HSB Delay Not Due To Contractor - Samy Vellu

ALOR STAR, March 4 (Bernama) -- The delay in the completion of the Hospital Sultanah Bahiyah (HSB) in Jalan Langgar, here is not due to any failure on the part of the contractor, said Works Minister Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu Sunday.
He said the delay was due to the fact that the contractor had to comply with new instructions from the Health Ministry which aimed to turn the HSB as one of the top hospitals in the country.
Speaking at a media conference after inspecting final preparations for the HSB which cost about RM557 million, Samy Vellu said the HSB had facilities for cardiac treatment which was on par with the National Heart Institute (IJN) in Kuala Lumpur.
He said the HSB, which would have 730 beds in 23 wards and 11 intensive care units, was now 99.75 percent completed and it was expected to be fully completed in a few more days before being handed over to the Health Ministry on March 15.
Construction work on the HSB started on Oct 16, 2000 and it was scheduled to be completed in 2003. However to date, it had yet to be handed over to the Health Ministry which resulted in complaints being made by various quarters including criticisms from the state government and the Sultan of Kedah.
Samy Vellu, who arrived at the hospital grounds in a helicopter, spent about an hour inspecting final preparations for the hospital.
He said among the renovations at the HSB were upgrading the VIP ward into a Royal Ward and several facilities such as the third stage Biosafety forensic laboratory to control dangerous diseases.