By DayakDaily Team
KUCHING, June 25: Works Minister Dato Sri Alexander Nanta Linggi has clarified that the Pan Borneo Highway (LPB) project has made more progress in Sarawak than in Sabah due to the former’s efficient management system.
According to a TVS news report, Nanta said, among other things, it includes making amendments to the Sarawak Land Code, which allows the acquisition of land and the granting of compensation based on an assessment by the Sarawak Land and Survey Department.
“(I would like to clarify) the Sarawak government did not provide funding to speed up the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway there, but the amendment made eased the issue of land acquisition to build the highway,” he said at a press conference in Parliament today.
Earlier, when responding to additional questions from Datuk Seri Roland Kiandee (PN-Beluran) during the Oral Question Session in the Dewan Rakyat, Nanta explained that the delay in the implementation of the LPB project in Sabah compared to Sarawak was due to the issue of land acquisition, utility relocation, and contractor selection.
“Therefore, I am asking for the cooperation of the leaders from Sabah so that we can complete Phase 1B in the best possible way.
“Although the distance is more or less the same (as in Sabah), in Sarawak, the project is divided into 11 work packages. Therefore, management is easier and more efficient than in Sabah, which has more than 35 work packages,” he said.
He also said that the project started earlier in Sarawak than in Sabah.
At the same time, Nanta denied the claim that the LPB project was completed faster in Sarawak than in Sabah because the minister in charge was from Sarawak.
In the meantime, Nanta also informed that 15 of the 19 work packages for the LPB Sabah Phase 1B project are currently in the final evaluation process of the open tender with a Letter of Acceptance (SST) to selected contractors to implement the work package expected to be released, in the third quarter of this year. — DayakDaily
