KUALA LUMPUR: The Malay Chamber of Commerce Malaysia (MCCM) says it is willing to reduce its portion of the RM12.5 billion Ipoh-Padang Besar rail double-tracking works to as low as 10% subject to certain conditions.
“If Gamuda-MMC insist on selecting their own contractors, we are willing to accept as low as 10% of the distribution, as long as we are given the whole package,” MCCM president Syed Ali Alattas said at a press conference yesterday.
He said the chamber still wanted to ensure that at least 30% of the total value of the Electrified Double-Tracking Project (EDTP) would go to Bumiputera contractors, even if some of them were not its members.
Syed Ali explained that the Chamber’s acceptance of a lower allocation was conditional on the award of a full spectrum of construction works for a complete package, for example the 80km Ipoh-Taiping stretch or the 50km Taiping-Butterworth track.
“We don’t want to just supply labour and we are not interested in subcontract. This way, accountability on both sides is clearly drawn,” he said.
The Gamuda-MMC consortium had earlier objected to the chamber’s part in the selection of Bumiputera contractors on concerns about accountability for work done.
Last week, Second Finance Minister Tan Sri Nor Mohamed Yakcop had asked MCCM and the Gamuda-MMC joint venture (JV) to sort out their differences.
Gamuda-MMC are the main contractors for the revived railway project that was scrapped earlier in 2004. Works for the 329km track would comprise the construction of 100 bridges, 30 station buildings, 180km of culverts and drainage works, and 300km of track works and utilities.
In a separate development, MCCM said that they had submitted a preliminary proposal to the Ministry of Finance yesterday for the construction of the 280km Seremban-Johor Bahru stretch of southern portion of the EDTP. -www.theedgedaily.com
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