No discrimination against Chinese firms: Uggah

BELADIN: Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has set the record straight on the termination of a contract involving a Chinese firm in the construction of the Rambungan Bridge in Kuching.

Stating that the state government does not victimise or discriminate against Chinese firms involved in major infrastructure projects, he made it clear that all they had to do is live up to expectations.
 
Uggah, who is Infrastructure and Port Development Minister, acknowledged that a Chinese firm was involved in the much-delayed bridge project but brushed aside any misgivings over its termination.
 
Termination of contracts, as witnessed in the Rambungan Bridge project, is based on contractors’ performance falling short of expectations, he explained.
 
“Actually, we have a number of engineering firms from China involved in our big infrastructural projects with local partners statewide.
 
“We have always been very objective in our assessment of any contractor’s performance on our project,” he said after visiting the construction site of the Batang Saribas 2 bridge in Beladin on Monday (Jan 22).
 
He had earlier visited the Lupar Bridge 1 and the Batang Saribas 1 bridge construction sites.
 
During the visit, Uggah invited the Chinese Consular General to Sarawak, Xing Weiping, to attend the project implementation progress briefing.
 
He asserted that the government adheres to regulations and laws to ensure contractors complete projects responsibly and on time.
 
“We want to show him how we conduct our project implementation progress briefing. As a matter of fact, all three bridge projects also involve contractors from China.
 
“We have also informed him that should they fail to show the expected performance, there will be a time when we have to terminate their contracts, like we did in the Rambungan Bridge project.
 
“We are not victimising or discriminating against anyone,” he stressed.
 
Towards this end, Uggah urged the three China firms working on the Batang Lupar 1, Saribas 1, and Saribas 2 bridge projects to accelerate construction, emphasising their delays in meeting completion schedules.

He assured that the state government wants to make sure contractors are responsible for completing their projects on time, while expressing hope that Xing will understand the approach.
 
Addressing specific projects, he expressed satisfaction with the RM848.745 million Batang Lupar 1 bridge project’s progress, anticipating completion by November 2025.
 
However, he said minor issues were requiring prompt resolution.
 
On the Saribas Bridge 1 project, which costs RM375.5 million, Uggah noted a target completion date of April 2025.
 
While the contractor faced challenges, he urged them to address issues promptly, emphasising the importance of improving overall performance.
 
“At the moment, their performance progress is not satisfactory. The actual physical progress is 76.60 per cent against its schedule of 86.54 per cent.
 
“They too face some issues which we have advised them to resolve so as to improve their performance,” he added.
 
For the RM385 million Saribas Bridge 2 project, Uggah outlined an expected completion date of August 1, 2025.

Also present during the site visit were Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development Permanent Secretary Datu Chiew Chee Yau, and Public Works Department (PWD) deputy director Meehan Jorai.