KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 6 — The Second Penang Bridge had 105 severe defects that were not fixed for hundreds of days that stretched from over seven months to nearly one-and-a-half-years, a federal audit report said.
The Auditor-General’s (A-G) report, which was tabled in Parliament today, said the bridge defects were identified in 2016.
“The audit analysis of the Bridge and Pavement Asset Inspection Report that was carried out in 2016 also found 105 defects on the bridge that were classified as category four (4) severity with a period of between 230 days to 529 days where there are still no actions to repair.
“While 25 defects for the highway is between 223 days to 461 days. Among defects identified are cracks, spalling, surface defects, loose connection and abnormal deformation,” the first series of the A-G’s report for the year 2017 said.
The severity of damage or defects to the bridge are classified according to five categories, with the first category being new condition, the second being minor defects, and the third being moderate defects.
The fourth category is for severe damage or defects, indicating significant loss of functionality or the element being close to failure or collapse, while the final category is for elements that have failed or not functional.
It said the bridge’s operator Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd — a wholly-owned Ministry of Finance Incorporated company — had subsequently taken action after the National Audit Department’s visit.
“However, after the Audit [Department’s] visit, JKSB has taken action to rectify the defects through work orders,” it said.
According to the Auditor-General’s report, the company Gammerlite Sdn Bhd that was tasked with inspections had carried out checks on the bridge and its pavements as scheduled, with 16,885 defects reported in 2016 and up to July 2017.
The report found that JKSB had taken action on 85.5 per cent, or 14,414 out of the 16,885 defects identified as of July 2017, with 2,441 defects unrectified.
The majority of the defects, or 88.8 per cent (14,965), were on the bridge, with 13,792 rectified and 1,173 yet to be rectified.
As for the 1,173 defects on the bridge that had yet to be rectified, 1,046 defects were classified as category three, and 126 were classified as category four.
In JKSB’s feedback to the A-G on February 7, 2018, the company pointed out that out of the 1,173 bridge defects yet to be rectified, 1,046 category three defects were initially recorded but it was found upon review that some defects were recorded repeatedly and that the actual number was only 600.
“473 of the defects only have to be monitored while 127 defects have been taken action on through issuance of work orders,” the company said in its feedback.
It added that a review by JKSB and Gammerlite in mid-2017 found that only 21 defects are classified as category four, instead of the 126 listed, with seven of these defects fixed in 2017 and the remaining 14 serious defects to be addressed in 2018.
“The priority of repair work takes into account the annual budget allocated due to serious rectification works that involve high cost. Approval from the Managing Director will be obtained first to give priority,” JKSB told the A-G.
