By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, March 26: Works Minister Baru Bian has promised that the federal government will not terminate the Pan Borneo Highway project regardless of its decision on the project delivery partner (PDP) model.
He said the project will proceed and all ongoing work package contracts will continue.
“The decision has yet been made by the government to terminate PDP model in the implementation of the two Pan Borneo Highway projects in Sarawak and Sabah.”
“However, the model is in the midst of evaluation and is being looked into from various aspects including the government’s financial ability considering the financial burden it is facing.
“This is to ensure that the allocation of the government will be optimised and yet not affect the implementation of the projects.
“Whatever decision the government makes, the ongoing work package contracts under the Pan Borneo Highway will continue,” said Baru, who is also Selangau MP.
He said this in reply to a question raised by Bandar Kuching MP Dr Kelvin Yii in Parliament this morning.
For the Sarawak Pan Borneo Project, Baru said a PDP agreement was signed with Syarikat Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd on Jun 30, 2015 with an approved cost of RM16.48 billion.
For the Sabah Pan Borneo Project, the agreement was signed on April 11, 2016 with Syarikat Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd with the cost of implementation stated as RM12.86 billion.
“Under the agreement, the PDP partners concerned needed to complete the project according to cost, specfications and set time schedule.”
For Sarawak, the completion is scheduled for Jun 30, 2021 and for Sabah, December 31, 2021.
Baru revealed that the overall progress for the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway stood at 38 per cent while Sabah is at 12 per cent. — DayakDaily
