Deputy works minister Ahmad Maslan said his ministry anticipates an increase in the number of delayed projects, driven largely by cost pressures linked to the ongoing conflict in West Asia.

Of the 855 ongoing projects under the public works department (JKR), he said one-third were ahead of schedule, one-third were on track, and one-third were behind schedule.

Road construction and maintenance projects have been among the hardest hit due to their reliance on diesel-powered machinery such as lorries and road rollers, he added.

On the other hand, he said building construction projects were somewhat cushioned by existing material stockpiles.

“Given the current situation, we are concerned that the number of delayed projects will rise,” he said during a working visit to the Kulai JKR headquarters here today.

Nonetheless, Ahmad said contractors were not permitted to halt work. While some had applied to scale down operations to control costs, he said they had yet to receive the ministry’s approval.

He said the ministry was also working to obtain official data from the statistics department to determine the extent of price increases in construction materials.

While industry estimates suggest price hikes of between 30% and 40%, Ahmad said the government was cautious about relying on preliminary figures without verified data.

He said the works ministry has engaged with several contractor associations to gather industry feedback.