By Lian Cheng
KUCHING, Nov 22: The upgrading of the stretch of road between Kota Samarahan Bridge to Sadong Jaya Bridge has been awarded to three contractors through an open tender process, said Asajaya incumbent Dato Sri Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah.
Acknowledging that the stretch of road is of undesirable condition, Abdul Karim said it was ‘inevitable’ due to the numerous ongoing development projects.
“I admit the road is horrible, (the stretch) from Kota Samarahan Bridge to Sadong Jaya Bridge. But it is inevitable because in the area of Asajaya, Sadong Jaya and Muara Tuang now, there are too many projects.
“With these development projects in progress, we can’t avoid having lorries carrying rocks, iron rods, and sand to the area. With these lorries coming in big numbers, the road is of course damaged.
“Road upgrading projects from Kota Samarahan Bridge to Sadong Jaya Bridge have been awarded to three companies through an open tender process,” said Abdul Karim at a press conference at the ‘Meet the Community Leaders’ session held at Asajaya today.
He said the problem with the road was that the repair works could not keep up with the damage done to the road due to the high usage of heavy vehicles and traffic.
Abdul Karim who is also Tourism, Arts, and Culture, as well as Youth and Sports Minister advised the residents of this stretch of coastal highway to be more alert and careful when using the road.
He said within one to two years, once existing projects in Asajaya, Sadong Jaya, and Muara Tuang are completed, the contractors will restore the much-damaged road.
“For the time being, the contractors have given assurance that once there are big potholes, they will repair it first so that the road situation will not be as bad.
“The pothole issue can be solved but we still cannot fix the problem of undulating road surface for the time being,” said Abdul Karim.
On the ‘Meet the Community Leaders’ session, he said it was an event long overdue due to Covid-19 pandemic. At the event, he gave away certificates to local community leaders who were re-elected. — DayakDaily
