Co-founder and executive vice chairman Kuna Sittampalam said the government’s pledge to pump-prime the economy was reflected in the approved allocation of RM69 billion for public infrastructure development in the 2021 budget, the highest development expenditure budget in history.

“This is in addition to the key megaprojects worth around RM143 billion announced under budget 2020 which will be rolled over to budget 2021,” he said in the engineering consultancy group’s 2020 annual report.

Kuna, who is also the company’s acting group chief executive officer, said the undertakings included the roll-out of key infrastructure projects in the transportation sector like the Mass Rapid Transit 3, the Johor Bahru-Singapore Rapid Transit System, the Penang Transport Master Plan and the Pan Borneo Highway.

“Moving forward, we foresee that the government will look at privatisation as a driver of infrastructure projects to reduce the financial strain on national coffers,” he said.

He said HSS Engineers group’s engineering consulting and project management expertise was well-placed in these critical sectors with proven track records in crucial projects spanning across many decades.

Since its inception, he said, the company had supported the government’s agenda in propelling the nation’s advancement and that it endeavoured to reprise its role in the coming year.

“Having weathered the challenges of 2020, we are confident about our future on the back of our healthy order book and projects in the pipeline,” he said.