by DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, Dec 3: The Pan Borneo Highway is now 99.98 per cent completed, with the physical construction of Phase 2, or now known as the Trans Borneo Highway and the Northern Coastal Highway (NCH), expected to start by early next year in Miri, Works Minister Dato Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said.
Responding to Senator Dato Ahmad Ibrahim’s inquiries on the progress of Trans Borneo Highway at the Dewan Negara this morning, Nanta noted that the project is currently in the pre-construction phase.
“Phase 2 is a continuation of the 11 Work Packages of the Pan Borneo Highway Phase 1 which involved three work packages, namely Work Package 12 (WP12) in Miri, Work Package 13 (WP13) in Limbang and Work Package 14 (WP14) in Lawas.
“The previous alignment of Phase 2 for WP12 Miri, now referring to the Miri Section of the 4.951 km Trans Borneo Highway project, is currently in the pre-construction phase.
“This Trans Borneo Highway project is a Federal government project and is undergoing a procurement tender process. Physical construction of the Miri Section of the Trans Borneo Highway is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.
“Meanwhile, Work Package 13: Limbang and Work Package 14: Lawas are currently new alignments and are part of the NCH Project implemented by the Regional Corridor Development Authority (RECODA) under the supervision of the Sarawak Government,” Nanta explained.
Regarding the near completion of Phase 1, he noted that the entire 11 work package (WPC 11) could not be completed in 2025 as originally scheduled because there was a critical need to replace the existing water pipes owned by Sarawak Water Sdn Bhd (LAKU) before the 4.2km road upgrade work could be implemented.
“The Ministry of Works and JKR Sarawak, together with contractors and stakeholders, are in the process of renegotiating the price and work for the pipe relocation and road upgrading to be implemented in phases starting in the first quarter of 2026, and is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2029.
“Once WPC 11 is completed, it will mark the completion of the entire Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway Project, which is the vital infrastructure link for the State,” he said.
“The Ministry is always committed to ensuring that approved projects are successfully implemented and achieve their goals and benefit the people.
“In this regard, to ensure that there are no delays due to contractor issues and additional allocations, the Ministry always conducts regular monitoring so that the project implementation is in accordance with the scope of work and specifications set,” Nanta assured. – DayakDaily
