KUALA LUMPUR: Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob (pic) on Tuesday (Oct 18) assured qualified local contractors that they will get the best opportunity to develop national projects.
Thus, Ismail Sabri refuted various allegations that the allocation of development expenditure of RM95bil in the 2023 Budget would only benefit certain parties.
"The government I lead today is always prioritising the development of infrastructure to benefit the entire Keluarga Malaysia," he said at the opening ceremony of the Malay Contractors Convention 3.0 and the 43rd annual general meeting of the Malay Contractors Association Malaysia (PKMM), here on Tuesday.
On Oct 7, the then government tabled the Budget 2023 amounting to RM272.3bil, which was the largest in the country's history that focused on the well-being of the people, business continuity, economic prosperity, and the efficiency of government services.
Budget 2023 also allocated as much as RM95bil for development expenditure which is the highest in history including as many as 7,615 development projects.
Ismail Sabri said Budget 2023 also provided various specific initiatives for G1 to G4 class contractors with an allocation of RM500mil to carry out maintenance works on Federal roads, small bridges and bridges, houses of worship and infrastructure damaged by floods.
To support Bumiputera contractors, Ismail Sabri said the government would also provide short-term financing to the contractors involved in fields such as electrical and construction through the Express Contract Financing Scheme (SPIKE) with funds amounting to RM20mil.
He said as much as RM50mil worth of small projects would also be allocated to G1 to G4 class female contractors through the Kontraktornita initiative to support the participation of more Bumiputera female contractors in government procurement.
"However, all of this will only be enjoyed if the 2023 Budget is re-tabled and approved after the 15th General Election," he said.
Ismail Sabri also said that the government realises that in such a challenging economic environment, not many contractors were willing to be involved in low-cost housing projects with low returns, especially with the uncertain price of building materials. - Bernama
