RM41.5m upgrade for 40 Tamil schools

THE STAR - Thursday April 24, 2008

KUALA LUMPUR: Tenders to refurbish or upgrade 40 Tamil schools will be issued by the Works Ministry next month.

Works Minister Datuk Mohd Zin Mohamed said work on the projects, worth RM41.5mil in total, would start in July.

The allocation for the projects is from the Finance Ministry (RM30mil) and Education Ministry (RM11.4mil).

Mohd Zin said 25 of the projects would be distributed to Class D contractors, 10 to Class F contractors, three to Class E and one each for Class B and C contractors.

“Thirty-one projects involve constructing additional buildings for schools while the rest involve upgrading works,” he said.

He added that the Finance Ministry would be funding the works on 25 schools, and the Education Ministry would fund 15.

On the Prime Minister's statement that projects under the 9th Malaysian Plan would be reviewed, Mohd Zin said it was normal for projects to undergo a mid-term review.

“We are facing pressure from escalating oil prices, and we have to make sure the prices of food are affordable. Those are our priorities.

“We want infrastructure projects to continue, so we have been asked to reprioritise projects. If a project is higher than the ceiling price (because of rising costs of building materials), we can choose to downsize it,” he said.