KUALA LUMPUR (July 6): Projek Lintasan Kota Holdings Sdn Bhd (Prolintas), the holding company of Projek Lintasan Damansara-Shah Alam Sdn Bhd (PLDASH), reiterated on Saturday that it had fulfilled all verified and certified payment obligations to the work package contractors (WPCs) involved in the Damansara-Shah Alam Elevated Expressway (DASH) project according to their respective contracts.

In a statement released to the media on Saturday, Prolintas said that it had no direct control over if, when and how much the WPCs pay their subcontractors. 

“Accordingly, while Prolintas sympathises with the subcontractors’ plight, if they have not been paid by the WPCs per their respective subcontracts with the WPCs, then that is a matter for them to pursue with the respective WPCs,” said Prolintas in the statement.  

On Thursday, media groups including The Edge reported that Messrs Thomas Philip had been appointed by over 20 subcontractors, who had worked on DASH, to get into settlement talks with Prolintas to recover what they claim as outstanding payments worth RM100 million for work done on the elevated highway. 

This follows disputes between Turnpike Synergy Sdn Bhd (a wholly owned subsidiary of Prolintas) and the main contractor of the DASH highway, Panzana Enterprise Sdn Bhd. In March 2021, the subcontractors were ordered to stop work and leave the site without any prior notice, despite having completed nearly 90% of the project. 

PLDASH is the concession holder of the 20.1km DASH, which connects Puncak Perdana in Shah Alam with Penchala in Damansara. Meanwhile, Turnpike Synergy is the main contractor for the construction of the highway costing RM4.2 billion. 

Panzana as a WPC was terminated in 2021 by Turnpike Synergy after the latter had various issues, with Panzana having subcontracted some portions of its contract to Pembinaan Melima (M) Sdn Bhd. It is unclear what problems Panzana had with the construction of the highway. 

Pembinaan Melima had subsequently formed a consortium with four other subcontractors, namely Tropical Engineering Sdn Bhd, Tropical Profile (M) Sdn Bhd, Pembinaan Thin Chai Sdn Bhd and Prosper Apex Sdn Bhd. 

Prolintas said that the WPC mentioned in the reports was terminated according to the terms of the contract due to “persistent breaches of obligations under the contract”.  

“The High Court of Malaya has also held that there was no unconscionable conduct on the part of Prolintas, and that the termination notice issued against the WPC is valid,” the group, which holds six highway concessions in the Klang Valley, said.  

The group also highlighted that in 2021, the court had ordered, and the subcontractors had agreed, that there is no contractual relationship between them and the DASH project employer (Prolintas), and that all allegations made against the DASH project employer were withdrawn unconditionally.  

The court had also ordered that the subcontractors would not file any further claims and/or commence any further actions whatsoever, including civil suits and ancillary proceedings, arising from the project against the DASH project employer and/or persons and parties related to the project.  

“Prolintas highlights that the very lawyer mentioned in the news report - namely, Matthew Thomas Philip - had already been appointed by the subcontractors. He had, in fact, acted on their behalf in the above court proceedings and expressly agreed to the terms of the court order mentioned above,” the group said.  

The group - jointly owned by Permodalan Nasional Bhd and Amanah Saham Bumiputera - said that the subcontractors had resorted to using adverse publicity and trial by media to improperly pressure and extract a settlement by duress from it to the detriment of other stakeholders.  

“Prolintas remains committed to resolving disputes in compliance with the conflict resolution mechanisms outlined in our contracts. This is in line with our prioritising transparency, integrity, and fairness in all our dealings and our dedication to ensuring that all parties are treated equitably,” it said. 

https://www.theedgemarkets.com/node/718141