Labuan bridge: JKR to call for proposals

Khalid (centre in suit), with Batu MP P Prabakaran on his right, posing with the 19 traders whose stalls were destroyed in a fire on New Year’s Eve.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Public Works Department (JKR) will be calling for proposals from the private sector on the proposed bridge connecting Labuan to Menumbok on mainland Sabah this year.

Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said several meetings involving the ministry, Labuan Corporation and the Sabah state government were held to discuss the matter and a recommendation was made to JKR to hold a request for proposal (RFP).

(Unlike an open tender, in RFP, a client does not provide a detailed plan or technical specifications for a project for parties to bid on.)

“This project could not be handled solely by the Federal Territories Ministry, as it also involved a state government which is Sabah.

“Based on several meetings which had been held, it was recommended to JKR to initiate a RFP, ” said Khalid.

He said this after handing over aid at Menara DBKL 1 in Kuala Lumpur to 19 traders of Pasar Sentul wet market whose stalls were razed in a fire on Dec 31 last year.

On Sept 6 last year, Khalid was quoted as saying the bridge project would cost around RM4bil, adding that the engineering feasibility of the project must also be taken into consideration.

“A holistic study on the environmental and social impact of such a project must also be accounted for, ” he said.

On Sept 23 last year, The Star reported Labuan MP Datuk Rozman Isli as saying that the 10km bridge would be built via a private finance initiative.

He said the private initiative was likely to involve land swaps. Rozman also expressed hope there would be no tolls.

“Even if there were toll charges, we hope it would not be more than RM10 and it should be a one-off passage in and out or vice versa, ” he said.

Rozman added that the Sabah government, under Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, had also agreed to cooperate and provide necessary help to ensure the project’s success.

Talk concerning a bridge connecting Labuan and mainland Sabah began some 20 years ago, though the project had yet to materialise.