This was also part of the four targets set under the 100-day Malaysian Family Aspirations (Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia or AKM) programme.

Senior works minister Fadillah Yusof said the ministry managed to achieve the target within 81 days by speeding up the issuance of these letters to qualified contractors for work to begin on rejuvenating the economy.

“All officers and staff of the ministry and agencies, especially the public works department (JKR), were highly motivated in reaching the goal. The results have exceeded expectations,” he said.

Fadillah said these letters of intent will pave the way for employment opportunities and benefit all supply chains in the construction industry, including the suppliers of materials or machinery and consultants.

Under the second 100-day target, the ministry had introduced new rules to enforce the Construction Industry Standards (CIS).

He said this included the Guidelines for Safe Working Procedures for Construction Work by the Construction Industry Development Board.

These new rules will ensure the safety and health of both construction site workers and the public. This will also increase the public’s trust in government policies.

Under the third target, 15,973 potholes on federal roads in the peninsula, Sabah, Sarawak and Labuan were patched from Sept 1 to Nov 30.

Fadillah said the fourth target was to improve the overall infrastructure.

This could be divided into two, with the first to improve the inter-urban highway network. This includes an agreement to build a new highway, the privatised Petaling Jaya Dispersal Elevated Highway.

The second is to hold negotiations with major highway concession companies to maintain existing toll rates or reduce them further so as not to burden road users.

He said this fourth target was the ministry’s main challenge during its first 100 days in office because it needed to ensure that the proposals submitted by the concessionaires took into account overall benefits.

“It is our intention to create a win-win situation for the stakeholders – for both members of the public and the concessionaires involved,” he said.

On future targets, Fadillah said his ministry planned to improve the government’s procurement process by adapting the use of the latest technology.

Apart from that, he said, the ministry intended to improve monitoring and implementation of projects, besides making proper provision for utility routes when implementing road infrastructure projects.

At present, these utilities have to run along the road pavements or shoulders.

This has led to delays in the implementation of road upgrading projects due to the need to divert these utilities at high cost, sometimes causing congestion and road accidents.