The government will ensure that all development projects planned by the various ministries this year are expedited in efforts to revive the country's economy following COVID-19 outbreak.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy), Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said so far only 48 per cent of government projects have been implemented due to the impact of the pandemic and inefficiency of the appointed contractors.

Also present were POKB president Datuk Sheikh Ahmad Dusuki Sheikh Mohamad and Jeli Hospital director Dr Muhamad Fidaie Abdul Kadir.

Elaborating, Mustapa, who is also Jeli member of Parliament said, a meeting was held yesterday with several ministries to hear out problems faced by agencies responsible for the projects.

"This year the allocation for development projects is RM68 billion and we aim to increase the figure.

"We need to get the projects going to drive the economy," he said adding that the domestic sector economy has shown signs of recovery.

He said though domestic resources had improved greatly, it would take some time to restore international trade.

"The objective of the current government is to ensure that businesses in all the economic sectors recover fully," he added.

-- BERNAMA