By Ashley Sim
KOTA SAMARAHAN, July 18: Deputy Premier of Sarawak Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas asserts that the federal government’s austerity drive will not affect State-funded megaprojects.
Among the projects that would not be affected, according to Uggah, is the development of the Sarawak Pan Borneo Highway.
“A lot of projects are under the State’s finances so they will not be affected by the federal government’s policy,” he said.
Uggah, who is also the Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development, asserted that while the Pan Borneo Highway is a major federal project in Sarawak, it is not being cancelled.
“But what the federal government is talking about are projects that have not yet begun or projects that are experiencing problems such as land problems or possibly, contractors, so we are waiting for detailed information on this,” he told reporters today at the Farley Supermarket car park here after inspecting the progress of the Pan Borneo Highway’s Mile 6 flyover.
Meanwhile, Uggah stated that the Mile 6 flyover is expected to be completed by the end of July, while the Mile 7 flyover will be fully operational on July 25, 2022.
In addition, he clarified that the State government is committed to ensuring that projects are completed on time in order to serve the people and meet public expectations.
He also noted that staff from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Port Development (MIPD), have been directed to go to the ground to monitor projects.
“We have a number of delayed and sick projects, and our priority is to make sure that delayed projects will be pushed to be on time and sick projects will be cured,” he explained.
When asked about the location of sick projects in Sarawak, Uggah disclosed that he would make an announcement on the matter later.
He also revealed that the upgrading of five roundabouts along the Kuching-Samarahan Expressway has been classified as one of the ‘sick projects’ in Sarawak so far.
Further commenting on the action to halt the sending of Indonesian workers to Malaysia, Uggah stated that his ministry and the Sarawak Public Works Department (JKR) were always looking for ways to overcome manpower shortages, particularly in the road construction sector.
“Our ministry is evaluating this situation with the JKR to find solutions to related issues, but for this Mile 6 and 7 flyover projects, they have sufficient manpower.
“The freeze on sending workers is a national issue, so the relevant ministries at the federal government are looking for ways to resolve this matter because it involves work in the construction industry as well as the plantation industry and the maid industry,” he added.
Earlier, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Economy) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the government would postpone or cancel projects which had yet to commence, to enable money to be channelled towards the people’s welfare.
He remarked the move was in response to a directive issued via the Malaysia Treasury Circular titled “Guidelines on Public Expenditure Savings”. — DayakDaily
