By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, April 11: The progress of the RM385 million Batang Saribas 2 Bridge project is now at 65.1 per cent and is targeting completion by December this year.
According to Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas, with the monsoon season now over, he hopes the next few months will see good weather that will allow the project to progress without many delays.
“We noticed that the contractor has sufficient workers and machinery. The monsoon season is over, and hopefully, in the next few months, it will be fine weather. Thus, I hope our target completion date is met.
“But it will need hard work, so I have requested the Public Works Department (JKR) and the consultants to do extensive supervision if it.
“I have directed Sarawak JKR director Dr Cassidy Morris and his team, along with the consultants and contractor, to develop a work plan to ensure its successful completion.
“They must ensure that there will be no issue that can interfere or delay the process,” he said during a site visit on the Batang Saribas 2 Bridge project at Kuala Saribas today.
Uggah, who is also the Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development Sarawak, said that the Batang Saribas 2 Bridge, at a length of 2.39km, is going to be Sarawak’s third longest bridge.
At the same time, he said that his ministry and Sarawak JKR will constantly be on the ground to monitor the implementation of infrastructural projects to identify and resolve any issues which could delay construction work.
“In implementing projects, JKR can face problems related to land ownership and inclement weather. Sometimes, too, the contractors will have their own problems.
“But if we are continuously on the ground—checking and monitoring and identifying and solving problems—construction can proceed smoothly to meet the scheduled completion date or even earlier.
“If a project encounters an issue, we must identify and resolve it at once. Like a sick person, we must find the medicine to treat them immediately. We must not allow his sickness to get critical,” he said.
Later, Uggah, Dr Cassidy, and some senior officers took a test drive through the almost completed Batang Saribas 1 Bridge nearby.
The RM375.5 million bridge crossing the Saribas River is expected to be open to the public by May this year. — DayakDaily
