28 June 2013
BY CHOONG EN HAN
The unfinished taxiway of klia2. Tee (inset) says there have been many last-minute requests and additional changes made by stakeholders of the new airport.
UEM-Bina Puri JV, the main contractor of klia2, is appealing against the liquidated and ascertained damages (LAD) fine slapped on it by Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB).
Bina Puri Construction Sdn Bhd director Henry Tee Hock Hin said the joint venture (JV) would appeal based on the terms and conditions of the contract that stated that the contractor could appeal for an extension of time (EOT) to finish up the work, as there had been many last-minute requests and additional changes made by stakeholders.
“We have already written in our appeal. Right now, our physical completion is about 93% and we will complete our portion of work by year-end,” he told StarBiz.
Tee is the brother of Bina Puri Holdings Bhd group managing director Tan Sri Tee Hock Seng.
With MAHB invoking the LAD, the JV stands to pay an RM6mil monthly fine, amounting to RM63.42mil, assuming it only hands over the airport on April 30, 2014, the new completion date for klia2.
Tee pointed out that UEM-Bina Puri JV was not the only contractor that was behind schedule, as the runway and taxiway had not been completed too for the earlier planned June 28 opening.
The JV’s work totalled about RM1.15bil out of the RM4bil projected cost of klia2.
“We received a handful of instructions at end-2012 and early-2013. These last-minute changes were impossible to be completed on time,” he explained.
Among the instructions it received were expanding the gross floor area by 60,000 sq m to 295,000 sq m.
Adding 45 additional counters to the immigration department and additional ticket booths and counters was also among the other instructions it had received from March to May.
“The final design is supposed to be frozen but it was not due to the last-minute changes, and we have been very accommodative of this”, he said.
According to him, the company? bankers, including Malayan Banking Bhd and CIMB Bank, had expressed concerns on the company? credit facility due to the LAD.
“Not only would this hit our bottom line but our reputation is also on the line. This is going to hurt us not only locally but also internationally,”, he said.
On the 212 non-compliance reports lodged by MAHB, he said these were just minor technical rectifications that happened across the construction industry.
“Whatever works that have an NCR (non-compliance report), we will rectify the defect,” he assured.
Thus far, the JV has rectified about 70 of these NCRs.
MAHB and UEM-Bina Puri JV had recently been embroiled in a spat blaming each other for the works that could not be completed in time for the opening of klia2.
Source: www.thestar.com.my
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