By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Dec 30: Padawan Municipal Council (MPP) chairman Lo Khere Chiang has appealed to the federal government to allocate more funds for the building of an underpass at Kuching Sentral due to pertinent traffic woes at this junction.
“An underpass to allow vehicles to ply from Jalan Tapang from the old airport road towards the present airport is badly needed.
“Presently, all vehicles have to U-turn at the “T” junction traffic lights, and it is a nightmare for commuters and anguish for those who have to bear with this every day,” he told DayakDaily yesterday.
Lo, who is also Batu Kitang assemblyman, believed that the flyovers at Mile 4, 6, 7 and 10, once completed, would serve greater Kuching better.
He hoped these flyovers along Jalan Penrissen, which formed part of the Pan Borneo highway project, would be completed by 2020 as promised by Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) during a briefing and meeting with them to discuss ways to ease traffic jams and minimise inconveniences to traffic commuters during this critical period of construction.
“These flyovers are built to ease the traffic flows from Mile 4, Penrissen Road, all the way to Serian. They will allow a seamless drive from Kuching to Serian, minus the present traffic jams that we are experiencing now,” he told DayakDaily yesterday.
He said these four flyovers, costing around RM50 million as reported by LBU, were under the jurisdiction of MPP. The completion of these flyovers and the Pan Borneo highway would certainly bring about greater development and business opportunities to greater Kuching and further expand the city’s limits.
“Kuching is growing, and we need to extend our infrastructure all the way to Serian. Presently, the traffic jam along Penrissen Road is as bad as the Kota Samarahan highway.
“Our planning authorities, I believe, has planned ahead and prepared our infrastructure corridors to commensurate with the allowable population density to enable room for expansion and to meet future traffic demands before traffic jams go from bad to worse,” said Lo.
On projects implemented by MPP, Lo reminded all present contractors and those intending to participate in future contracts to maintain the highest credibility and efficiency because the grading of the performance of all contractors in MPP was an ongoing process.
“We value good contractors and will award them with more jobs. Similarly, we penalise contractors who don’t perform, all in accordance with the contract.”
He said it had been rewarding to note that through time, MPP had been able to cultivate a team of good contractors who are credible and deliver their job with minimal supervision.
“Those who are found to totally ‘sub’ their projects will be blacklisted by MPP and will not be considered for future tenders,” said Lo. — DayakDaily
