Leaky RM18m aquatic centre shut down

(NST) KUALA TERENGGANU: The RM18 million Aquatic Centre in Batu Burok here was ordered by the Works Ministry to close indefinitely yesterday. Works Minister Datuk Shaziman Abu Mansor said too many flaws had been detected in the year-old centre, making it unsafe for public use.

The state of the art centre, which has separate facilities for swimming and diving events, was completed in May last year, just in time for the Malaysia Games. Since then, the centre has been open to the the public for swimming.

"We inspected the lower ground level and found too many leaks.

"We also found rusty structures and faulty electrical connections that were exposed to water. All these have made the centre unsafe for use," Shaziman told reporters after leading a ministry inspection team to the centre.

In an immediate response, Public Works Department director-general Datuk Seri Dr Judin Abdul Karim, who was also present, said action would be taken against the Terengganu PWD officers who were the supervisors of the project if they were found to be negligent.

The state PWD was in charge of the contract, which meant they implemented and managed the project.

The closure of the aquatic centre is the latest blow for the state government after another of its sporting facilities, the roof of the RM228 million Sultan Mizan Zainal Abidin Stadium in Gong Badak, collapsed on June 2.

Shaziman expressed regret and concern over both incidents and questioned how two important and costly sporting projects ended up this way.

"We have asked the contractors (Pakatan Nadiwangsa Sdn Bhd) to conduct immediate remedial works as the project is still in its defect period."

Shaziman said, more importantly, the PWD found other weaknesses.

They included its design, the implementation of the project and the supervision of the project when it was being built.

"Maybe they hurried the project to meet the (Sukma) games deadline but this is not an excuse why the project did not meet the required standards. This is supposed to be a safe facility for the people."

Shaziman said PWD must, from now on, look seriously at how it conducts its projects.

He said the department must stop looking only at deadlines and instead ensure specifications and quality standards were met.

"We do not want projects that are unsafe and have short lifespans. This aquatic centre is a good example. It is just one year old and already there are so many problems. This is definitely not healthy."

Shaziman expected a preliminary finding on problems affecting the aquatic centre to be submitted to him by the federal PWD in 10 days.