Pairin inspecting the bore-piling machine at Slope 29 and Slope 28. Also seen are Michael (second left), Amrullah (fourth right) and Thomas (third right).
TAMBUNAN: Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan said that the repair of eight slopes out of 31 slopes along Ranau-Tambunan road will be completed within two years.
He said eight of the slopes about 9.32 kilometers length are in critical and dangerous condition and the government will prioritize repairs, including the road.
“Other slopes will be done by taking a certain time and in order of priority,” he said in a press conference after visiting the site of the slope and the road in Kampung Kirokot here yesterday.
At the same time, Pairin, who was also Infrastructure Development Minister also requested for Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) to remove the electric poles located along the repair area and hoped that the removal works can be done as soon as possible.
On the site of a graveyard as well as the land, buildings and fish ponds included on the project site, Pairin urged residents in the village to take action and make a fixed decision through discussion whether they should be moved.
“I hope the management of the village and villagers can make a decision as soon as possible because if people are slow to act, it will also cause the delay of the project.
“We want this project completed on schedule and any delay in completion of the project is also detrimental to the population, while the government has spent hundreds of millions to complete this mega project which also gives comfort to residents and road users,” he said.
The Tambunan assemblyman also asked the district Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) here to ensure the retaining wall was constructed adjacent to paddy fields so that it does not cause problems in the long run.
He said the people were worried that in the event of river bank erosion, especially flooding, their land and property will be damaged.
“The consultant contractor has provided a guarantee on the matter that the bank erosion problem will not occur after the construction of a retaining wall on the critical slope. Nevertheless, I also ask the DID to carry out inspections on this matter,” he said.
On the whole, Pairin, who is also Keningau Member of Parliament, said he was satisfied with the maintenance work on the slope and the Ranau-Tambunan Phase 2 B road which are running smoothly now as well as the briefing given to him by PWD officers and the contractor on the development of the project at the the office of the Public Works Department here.
The project, costing nearly RM113 million, is being carried out by Perwira Progresif Construction Sdn Bhd under a 24-month contract starting on April 10 this year. It is scheduled for completion on April 9, 2017.
Meanwhile, the project consultant from Perunding Puncak Anugerah, Ir Daniel Wong in his briefing at the project site said the slope and the road maintenance project from Ranau to Tambunan Phase 2 B starts at KM35.5 and ends atKM44.77 about 9.32 kilometers in length.
He said the major portion of the construction works in this contract is the remedial works to eight most critical failed slopes along this stretch of road which constitutes about 92.08 per cent of the total physical works in the contract.
“Due to the limitation of project funding under this phase, the complete section of the road to be upgraded under the contract actually starts from km39 to km40.5 i.e starts just before slope 22 and ends after slope 25.
“Therefore, the total length of the road to be upgraded including the sections of the road upgraded under the eight slopes remedial works is about 4 kilometres,” he said.
Daniel said that the eight critical slopes are slope 17, slope 20, slope 22, slope 24, slope 25, slope 28, slope 29 and slope 31 while the biggest of these eight slopes is slope 17 at Kampung Kerokot.
According to him, other works are 4 kilometres of road flexible pavement, surface drainage works, installation of road amenities, environmental protection and enhancement work, routine maintenance and traffic management.
He said problems were encountered at slope 17 (Kirokot) whereby the contractor initially mobilized their boring machine plus accessories to this slope site in June this year and planned to start their worked in July.
“Due to the presence of affected electrical posts and cables, affected land and buildings, fish ponds, graveyard which have not been resolved and removed, the contractor decided to move the bored-piling machine to slope 29 and slope 28 to commence the works there which pose minimal hindrance,” he said.
Daniel said that the contractor has re-programmed to commence dredging works, bored piling works at Slope 17 in October this year and hopefully all the land problems, utilities, affected buildings, fish ponds and graveyard are resolved and relocated by the people at the area.
Earlier Pairin was also briefed on the development of the project by PWD Officers and the Project Constructor at the PWD Office here and also visited the damaged road in Kampung Monsok and the 150 foot Bailey Bridge construction site which cost RM500,000 in Kampung Pupuluton. The construction of the bridge will start next year.
Also present at the site were Ministry of Infrastructure Development Permanent Secretary Datuk Michael Emban, State Public Work Department Director Ir Haji Amrullah Kamal, District Officer Thomas Lojigin and District PWD Engineer, Nelson George.