Datuk Fadillah Yusof
KUCHING: The RM400 million allocation announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak for the Sibu – Kapit road will be included under the Budget 2014.
Works Minister Datuk Fadillah Yusof said the project will be implemented by the Rural and Regional Development Ministry.
“Part of the road is already implemented and built by KKLW. The RM400 million announced by the PM was for the bridge and also a link road which will also be implemented by the ministry using Budget 2014,” he said.
He mentioned this when asked to comment on suggestion by Infrastructure Development and Communication Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin that all approved federal projects in the state be put in writing as soon as possible to avoid any delay their implementation.
Manyin had said on Friday that the road linking Kapit to Song was one of the projects approved verbally but had yet to be implemented because there was no document confirming its approval. Last month, during the state’s Gawai Dayak open house, Najib announced the RM400 million allocation to expedite the construction of a bridge in Kanowit and complete the road to Song, with the aim of providing road access from Kapit to Sibu.
Meanwhile, DAP Sarawak chairman Chong Chieng Jen said he believed Manyin had come out with such a suggestion out of frustration with verbal pledges made by the federal government to implement projects in the state.
He said the party shares the same sentiment because they also hold the opinion that approval of projects must be put in writing instead of just being announced verbally.