KUALA LUMPUR: A total of 140 contracts, valued at RM38 billion, were awarded to contractors from China between 2010 and October 2016, the Dewan Negara was told yesterday.
Deputy Works Minister Datuk Rosnah Abdul Rashid Shirlin said out of the total, only three involved government contracts, worth RM885 million, while the remainder were private projects.
“The Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department and the International Trade and Industry Ministry are drawing up a mechanism whereby foreign contractors, including those from China, must utilise local raw materials like steel,” she said.
However, Rosnah said it was not mandatory for all projects undertaken in the country to only use local raw materials as, in some cases, certain raw materials had to be imported. –Bernama