KUCHING: Ten work packages from Sematan to Miri under the first phase of the Pan Borneo Highway project have reached a completion rate of 52 per cent as of June this year, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.

Fadillah pointed out that one work package from Telok Melano to Sematan had already been completed as of January 2019.

“The federal government will continue to respect the decisions made by the previous government in changing the implementation model of the Pan Borneo Highway Project of Sabah and Sarawak,” he told the Dewan Rakyat this morning.

Yusuf Abd Wahad (GPS-Tanjong Manis) had asked Fadillah about the latest status of the project and the impact of the termination of its project delivery partner (PDP) model by the previous government.

Fadillah said the termination of the PDP had initially resulted in cost savings by removing the PDP fees but it had not taken into account the impact of the termination on other aspects.

“The change in implementation model had not taken into account matters that had already been signed by the government, such as project administration, contract changes, the welfare of personnel involved, the needs of increasing capacity and existing technical expertise.”

However, Fadillah said the mitigation plan and follow-up action were already underway to improve the implementation model to ensure the smooth development of the highway to stimulate socio-economy, industrial and investments sectors.

“The Public Works Department will assess the impact of the PDP termination towards bumiputera contractors who are involved in the Pan Borneo Highway project,” he said.

Fadillah said the government sought to accelerate the completion of the highway without compromising its quality and to assess the overall impact on how existing contractors who had been awarded works packages fulfil the government’s aspiration of awarding 30 per cent of the project to bumiputera companies.

He said the Sarawak portion of the project was initially to be completed in June 2021 and Sabah’s in December 2021 but it had now been extended to 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Meanwhile, Fadillah said the 11 work packages in Sabah under first phase of the project had reached an completion rate of 32 per cent as of June this year and the tendering process for four other works packages were expected to be finalised by this year.

Source: The Borneo Post Online