The Malaysian cabinet is expected to make a decision pertaining to the proposed takeover of four highway concessions by end of this month after scrutinising the findings of the study carried out by the Works Ministry.
Works Minister Baru Bian said the study findings were currently being distributed to all ministries for scrutiny and that the announcement on the matter would also be made at the latest by the end of this month.
The minister, however, refused to elaborate.
“To be fair, I shouldn’t speak prematurely about it, but definitely it is for the good of the people in all aspects, all the stakeholders’ rights have been considered. So, we can expect something positive,” he said when asked about the latest development of the highway concession takeover plan in Bestari Jaya today.
Last June, Baru was reported as saying that the proposal for the acquisition of any highway would only be decided by the Cabinet after taking into account the result of the study.
He said the ministry had also appointed an independent accredited audit consultant in January 2019 to study and examine the direction of the country’s toll industry.
Earlier, Baru officiated the ground-breaking ceremony for IJM Corporation Berhad’s Industrialised Building System (IBS) Plant here today.
Also present were IJM Berhad Group Chief Executive Officer cum Managing Director Soam Heng Choon.
In his speech, Baru said the government was committed to promoting IBS technology and one of the ministry’s main targets was towards having a mandatory policy for private projects worth RM50 million and above to use the IBS system and reach at least the IBS score of 50 by 2020.
He said the IBS Plant initiative had also been seen as capable of realising the government’s mission to build more affordable houses in a shorter period of time.
“In fact, the use of IBS also capable of providing better quality houses and comfort to the people,” he said.
Meanwhile, Soam in his speech said the IJM’s investment in the RM165 million state-of-the-art fully automated Industry 4.0 facility on the 10-hectare site stands for IJM entry into the IBS market, adding a further milestone to the group’s long-term strategy.
“With an annual output of 500,000 square metres, the facility will showcase IJM IBS capabilities in providing end to end digital IBS solution, from design, costing, manufacturing, fabrication to delivery and on-site installation,” he added.
- Bernama
