Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak
KUALA LUMPUR: The federal government will continue to implement the Pan Borneo Highway project for the benefit of the people, particularly in Sabah and Sarawak.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the highway stretching for 2,325 kilometres was being built at a cost of almost RM30 billion.
“For the people of Sabah and Sarawak, the Pan Borneo Highway project which will benefit the local residents and Malaysians in general will continue to be implemented,” he said when delivering the policy speech in conjunction with the UMNO General Assembly at the Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC), yesterday.
When launching the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Project at Kampung Andus, Papar on April 24 2016, Najib was quoted as saying that the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project would bring a major impact to Sabah and its people including in terms of socio-economic development.
For the first phase of the project, construction work involved upgrading of several major routes in Sabah.
The routes involved are Jalan Sindumin (Sipitang) Tg Simpang Mengayau (Kudat); Jalan Ranau-Sandakan and Jalan Lahad Datu-Tawau.
Construction work in Sarawak officially began on March 31 2015 with the first phase starting on the 43km road from Nyabau to Bakun which is expected to be completed at the end of 2017 followed by the Tanjung Datu-Sematan-Miri-Limbang-Lawas route expected to be completed within a period of eight years which is the middle of 2023.
The Federal Government also gave an assurance that there would be no toll charges for the Pan Borneo Highway as it was the main route for road users in both Sarawak and Sabah.
The Pan Borneo Highway project is expected to create about 400,000 job opportunities for the people in Sabah and Sarawak following the development brought besides business opportunities created for local contractors. — Bernama