PM: Pan Borneo highway project a promise fulfilled by BN

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Najib arriving for the dinner hosted in conjunction with his visit to the state last night. Seen behind him is Adenan. — Bernama photo

BINTULU: The construction of the Pan Borneo Highway over a distance of 1,633km from Sarawak to Sabah at a cost of RM27 billion underlines Barisan Nasional’s (BN) promise to fulfil the manifesto of the 2013 general election.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the BN government would not promise anything that would be impossible to implement because it is the expectation of the people who voted for BN.

“I intend to fulfill my promise (Pan Borneo highway project) and tomorrow it will be fulfilled,” he said at a dinner hosted in conjunction with his two-day visit to the state, starting in Bintulu, here yesterday.

Najib also pledged that the implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway would give priority to the local community of Sarawak because job opportunities and companies engaged would be from Sarawak.

Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem said the implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway project was a promise long awaited by the people of Sarawak.

“It will be the biggest ever engineering project being undertaken in Sarawak,” he said.

Adenan said, once the project was completed it would pave more economic opportunities for Sarawak and Sabah.

“We expect to be the same in terms of development with Peninsula in years to come,” he said adding that Sarawak now was on track to become an industrialised state.

He hoped Sarawak contractors would be appointed to carry out the highway project, so as to showcase their capabilities and quality of work. — Bernama