KUCHING: The progress of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway, involving 10 work packages from Sematan to Miri, is currently being implemented and is at 54 per cent completion as of August this year.
Senior Minister of Works Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the stretch between Telok Melano and Sematan under phase one of the project was completed in January 2019.
He said the Sarawak and Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project was an ongoing government initiative to improve the road infrastructure network in Sabah and Sarawak implemented in phases.
“For Sabah, the progress status of phase one until August 2020 is 36 per cent for the 11 work packages currently being implemented.
“Meanwhile, four work packages, including work packages involving the route from Tawau to Semporna where the contract had been terminated, will be re-tendered and it is expected to be finalised this year,” he said in a reply to Senator Dr Nuing Jeluing at the Dewan Negara on Monday (Sept 7).
Following this, he said the implementation of the remaining 20 work packages of phase one of the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Project was subject to the government’s current financial capability for the 12th Malaysia Plan.
“The Perikatan Nasional (PN) government will still respect the decision of the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to change the method of implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway project for Sabah and Sarawak.
“Initially the termination of the project delivery partner (PDP) is expected to provide savings to the government. However, the changes in the implementation model do not take into account the following issues being addressed by the government, including the impact on project administration, contract changes, the welfare of the staff involved and the need for capacity improvement and existing technical expertise.”
He said as such mitigation plans and continuous follow-up actions were being implemented to improve the implementation methods that had been decided previously to ensure the smoothness and sustainability of the Pan Borneo Highway Project as a catalyst for the development of the socioeconomic, industrial and investment sectors.
