KUCHING, June 12: A total of 20 sections of the Pan Borneo Highway Phase 1 project are expected to complete by year-end while the remaining five will be ready by April next year.
Senior Minister of Works Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof said the five sections are in Bukit Begunan, Spaoh, Sarikei, Tatau and Lambir.
He explained that more time is required for these locations due to various design and land conditions as well as manpower shortages.
He said this during a press conference in conjunction with Jelajah FTRoadpedia Sarawak at Miri Imperial Hotel on Saturday (June 11), according to a report by Sarawak Public Communications Unit (Ukas).
Fadillah said the road stretch from Kuching to Sri Aman is now standing at 85 per cent completion with several interchanges opened or half-opened to the public.
The first phase of the Pan Borneo Highway involved a route from Telok Melano to Miri with a length of 786km.
Meanwhile, the second phase involves a proposed route from Miri to Lawas without passing Brunei, described as the missing link for the highway project.
Fadillah mentioned that Pan Borneo Highway Phase 2 and the ‘Red Line’ project which involves the upgrading of old roads to Pan Borneo standard, were canceled by the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.
However, the current federal government has agreed to resume the construction of Pan Borneo Phase 2 as well as tendering the ‘Red Line’ project.
For the record, Pan Borneo Phase 2 is also part of the Sarawak-Sabah Link Road (SSLR) project and Trans-Borneo Highway project. — DayakDaily
