KUALA LUMPUR – The Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has shut down 15 construction sites which failed to observe the standard operating procedures (SOP) for the Movement Control Order (MCO) since 13 January.
“15 construction sites have been issued the stop work order as they did not observe several SOP, such as, non-compliance of Act 446 for employees’ accommodation, no physical distancing and workers not wearing face mask.
“Within this period, CIDB has inspected 1,078 construction sites nationwide where 1,022 were operating,” said Senior Minister of Works, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
According to Fadillah, from that amount, 1,007 complied with the SOP. Most of the Covid-19 positive cases originated from the construction sites which failed to obey the SOP and guidelines.
“Based on the findings by the Ministry of Health (MOH), we found that the main cause for the outbreak among foreign workers is congested and dirty employees’ accommodation which do not comply with the Workers’ Minimum Standards of Housing and Amenities Act 1990 (Act 446).
“Workers move from one project site to another also played a role in spreading the disease and form construction site clusters,” Fadillah said.
CIDB has also been directed to intensify SOP inspections at construction sites nationwide to ensure compliance. Failure to comply will result in the closure of construction site.
“CIDB can also impose disciplinary actions on the contractors which would result in the suspension or cancellation of their registration,” said Fadillah. –MalaysiaGazette
