Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam has said some development projects are progressing at a slow pace.
The minister was questioned at the Parliament on Wednesday regarding the progress of development projects in the Villingili Constituency.
At the sitting, Thimarafushi MP Abdulla Riyaz said the road development of Thimarafushi was contracted to Road Development Corporation (RDC) in 2019 and that the project has been greatly delayed. He said it is unlikely that the project would reach completion in the next ten years, considering the pace at which it was moving forward. HE inquired from the minister when the project would reach completion.
In his response, the minister acknowledged that projects contracted to some companies were progressing very slowly. He said that he would not speak in defense of such companies. He said it was important for the contractors to have the required capacity and assured that he would work to expedite delayed projects. He said he could not give a specific date on which the work would be completed.
The minister noted that both local and foreign companies are among the contractors whose projects are delayed. To manage the situation better, the ministry has been asking its employees to ensure that the labour force and equipment are mobilized to project sites.
'If not, there are ways we can penalize them. Therefore, we first penalize and go for termination if penalizing doesn't help. Terminating is also a process,' the minister said.
