The 2025 Auditor-General’s Report Series 3, tabled in the Dewan Rakyat today, said the project was approved under the 11th Malaysia Plan and should have reached 53% completion by now, following initial delays.

The national audit department attributed the delay to poor performance on the part of the contractor, saying that construction of the base’s jetty and main building was far behind schedule due to a cascading effect caused by a delay in the construction of living quarters for Esscom staff.

The contractor completed construction of the quarters on Jan 12, 2022 – 254 days after the scheduled completion date of May 3, 2021.

“This delay in completing the new quarters caused other project scopes to be delayed.

“As of May 25, 2023, the construction of the jetty was 11% behind schedule with no actual progress and the main building was 8% behind schedule, with actual progress at 34% compared with the planned 42%,” the report said.

The report added that various other components were also between 6% and 16% behind schedule, and that the contractor withdrew in August 2023 and was officially terminated on Sept 6 the same year after prolonged underperformance.

The report recommended various steps such as appointing a new contractor and strengthening coordination between ministries to ensure no further delays.

The departments in charge of the project have committed to implementing changes based on the recommendations in the report.

“To ensure the project’s completion, the public works department and the works ministry reported that the process of appointing a new contractor is underway to complete the remaining works. Joint monitoring and coordination with the home ministry will also be strengthened to ensure that progress stays on schedule,” the report said.

In January 2021, the Daily Express reported that the establishment of a forward operating base on Pulau Mabul would further strengthen security in the Eastern Sabah Security Zone.

The forward operating base is a pioneering project for Esscom, operated by the marine police as a tactical headquarters to control and monitor security in the waters off Semporna and the surrounding areas.