KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project is 65% completed, says Deputy Works Minister Datuk Arthur Joseph Kurup.
He said the Sarawak stretch of the project has reached 86% completion.
“Sabah’s delay was due to the change of government in 2018, which resulted in policy changes and the termination of project delivery partners,” he told a press conference after officiating the Parti Bersatu Rakyat Sabah (PBRS) office in Tawau on Sunday (Sept 4).
Arthur, who is PBRS deputy president, said Sarawak was able to continue working on the project as there was no change of government on its side.
He said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob had also approved the remaining 19 packages of the project to be completed within five years.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof had said in May the remaining 19 out of the total 35 packages of the project would be completed using federal funds.
On other matters, Arthur said construction of roads, especially those connecting Kalabakan and Serudong to Simanggaris in Kalimantan, Indonesia, would be implemented next year.
He said this was to ensure that the people of Sabah benefit as much from the expected economic surplus after Indonesia shifted its capital city from Jakarta to Nusantara, Kalimantan.
“Connecting these areas must be sped up so that Sabah is well-prepared to receive the expected economic spillover once the shift in Kalimantan is done,” he said.
