BEGINNING this year, the Local Government Development Ministry will require all its new projects to undergo a feasibility study to prevent them from turning into white elephants.

Its minister Nga Kor Ming said it was important for feasibility studies to be conducted independently and professionally to ensure the new projects could meet the criteria set.

“In fact, with this new approach, there will no longer be white elephants, or projects which were abandoned like before,” he told a press conference after closing the Local Authorities (PBT) Convention 2023 themed “Madani Municipalities-Prosperous People” in Ipoh today.

He said this when asked about the seriousness of the white elephant issue as a result of lack of public involvement in the projects.

Nga said the ministry would do its best to save white elephant projects which had been abandoned.

According to Nga, the ministry is now focusing on upgrading existing facilities like public markets as the country marches towards a developed nation status.

Nga gave an assurance that the ministry would hold engagement sessions with all stakeholders, especially active civil society groups to prevent a recurrence of the implementation of unwanted projects.

Earlier, in his speech, Nga said it was necessary to always get the people involved in development planning as this bottom-up approach would enable PBT to develop towns based on the people’s needs.

“Therefore, I want to stress again that a Performance-Based Budget is important to ensure that the service and focus of the ministry on well-being can continue to be enhanced.

“Furthermore, the ministry will consider new projects through the implementation of studies based on return on investment, cost benefit analysis, credibility reliability index and feasibility studies,” he said.

Nga said the findings of these studies would provide clear focus and prevent leakages in expenditure, or the creation of white elephants. – Bernama, March 12, 2023.