DELAYS in the repair and rebuilding of many dilapidated schools in Sarawak are not caused by the “lightweight” industrialised building system (IBS) adopted by the previous federal government, Works Minister Baru Bian said today.

In the IBS, also known as pre-fabricated construction, building components such as the walls, floor and staircase, are separately manufactured and transported to the construction site to be assembled there.

In a media conference in Kuching late this afternoon, Baru said repairs and upgrading work on 50 of the 116 schools approved this year for rehabilitation using the IBS on track and nearing completion.

He earlier attended a briefing on the role and scope of work of the Sarawak Public Works Department, which is overseeing the rehabilitation of the 50 schools.

Baru said rehabilitation of the 50 schools, which collective contract for rehabilitation work was worth RM138 million, should be completed by the end of August,

Baru said it was the remaining 66 schools that were experiencing delays in their repair and rehabilitation. Work on these schools was the purview of the Education Ministry.

“These are the ones that seem to have some problems.”

Baru, who was appointed Works Minister last Monday, would not elaborate on what were the problems that were causing the delays.

Four hundred and fifteen  schools in Sarawak are “DS3”, or the most dilapidated category.

Baru, who is also Sarawak PKR chief, said 210 more schools, mostly in rural Sarawak, were “waiting” to be repaired in the next budget.

Last month, state Pakatan Harapan chief Chong Chieng Jen, before his appointment to Domestic Trade, Consumerism and Cooperatives Deputy Minister, had asked the state government to reconsider using the IBS for schools.

Chong had cited a report in which the pre-fab system was identified as the reason for 85% of the rehabilitation work being behind schedule. Chong also said village roads were damaged by vehicles transporting the fabricated parts to the project sites.

On the Pan Borneo Highway, Baru said progress on the project to build a 2,083km highway connecting Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei, was 2% ahead of schedule.

He said the project was 22% completed against the target 20%.

However, he said, work on a 75km stretch from the Serian roundabout to Pantu junction was 7.9% behind schedule.

According to the Lebuhraya Borneo Utara website, the work contract for that stretch of work was awarded to Zecon Kimlun Consortium Sdn Bhd and it involved the construction of one layby, 10 bridges, 84 bus shelters and eight pedestrian bridges.

The RM16 billion highway has its end points in the coastal town of Sematan southwest of Sarawak and Serudong northeast of Sabah. – July 9, 2018.