KUCHING, June 16: Kuching South City Council (MBKS) Traffic and Works Steering Committee chairwoman Cr Kho Teck Wan has clarified that the Muara Tuang to Aeroville junction access road project was not approved when Pakatan Harapan (PH) was in power.
Denying claims made by Sarawak Democratic Action Party (DAP) chairman Chong Chieng Jen that the project fund was approved by PH, she said the road was made possible under Senior Minister of Works Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof in January 2018.
She also said that PH had not executed the said project, which led to a statement by Kota Sentosa assemblyman Wilfred Yap urging the then PH government to put “people over politics” and implement the project which had already been approved by the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) government.
Meanwhile, to address Chong’s concern regarding Lorong Stampin 24, Kho explained that there are two temporary routes designated to divert traffic from the main construction site.
“To ease the traffic flow caused by the closure of access road between Lorong Stampin 28 and 47, two temporary alternate routes were proposed by the JKR (Public Works Department) construction team.
“Route 1 connecting Lorong Stampin 24 and Lorong Stampin 30 is completed and open to traffic since February 2022.
“Route 2 connecting Lorong Stampin 28 and Jalan Stampin Baru is currently being built and is scheduled to open to vehicle use in August 2022,” she said in a statement today.
Once the access road from Muara Tuang to Aeroville junction is completed, she said the closed road connecting Lorong Stampin 28 and 47 would be permanently closed.
Kho also noted that an MBKS team led by mayor Dato Wee Hong Seng together with Yap had met with the JKR team in charge of construction on Monday (June 13).
The new access road serves to provide an alternative route for Kota Samarahan residents to reach Kuching town bypassing the Mile 6 intersection and Kuching-Kota Samarahan Expressway. — DayakDaily
