Govt To Cancel Contract For Delayed Offshore Patrol Vessels

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The first of the three offshore patrol vessels was handed over to the home ministry in January 2024. (Facebook pic)
PETALING JAYA: The Cabinet has decided to terminate a contract for offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) after only one of three vessels ordered was handed over to the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government spent over RM600 million and injected another RM152.6 million just to finish the construction of a single vessel, which was handed over in January 2024 after a three-year delay.
MMEA was supposed to have received three OPVs in 2020, and the delayed delivery prompted an investigation by the Public Accounts Committee in September 2022.
“The other two vessels are still under construction. The Cabinet has decided that the home ministry will discuss with the company involved to terminate the contract by mutual agreement,” Saifuddin said at a press conference in Putrajaya today.
“If the current contractor cannot finish the project, we will take the appropriate steps to make sure the project can still proceed.
“We need to find a solution to ensure that MMEA receives the vessels it needs to safeguard our maritime borders.”
OPV 1, named KM Tun Fatimah, was handed over to the home ministry in January 2024 after a three-year hold-up caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and delays in importing the latest technical equipment for the ship.
Last April, Saifuddin said MMEA was expected to receive the other two vessels – OPV 2 and OPV 3 – in two years.
He was reported to have said that OPV 2 was 75% complete while OPV 3 was over 50% ready.
The finance ministry injected RM152.6 million into OPV 1 in 2023 to ensure that it would be completed by that year. The ministry took over the OPV project from Tabung Haji subsidiary Destini Bhd after it was found to be facing major problems. - FMT

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