Dato Sri Michael Manyin
KUCHING: The allocation of RM16 billion by the federal government to upgrade the whole of Pan-Borneo Highway is too small to implement the project as planned.
Infrastructure Development and Communication Minister Dato Sri Michael Manyin told The Borneo Post recently the Pan-Borneo Highway is 1,096 km long and RM16 billion was ‘chicken feed’ for the project.
“If we want the quality of the highway in Kuala Lumpur, it will cost minimum RM20 to 30 million per km.
“With RM16 billion allocated to us for the whole stretch, we can have a road that costs about RM10 million per km. It is definitely not enough for a road of real highway standard.”
To tailor the implementation of the project to the limited budget, Manyin said some stretches of the highway might have to remain two-lane instead of the planned four-lane road.
One stretch that would be two-lane is the 33 Km Sematan- Teluk Melano road which is at the southern tip of the state.
“We will commence construction work on this stretch this month. Meanwhile, the stretch from Bintulu to Nyalau has
already started on March 31 this year,”
Manyin stressed that RM16 billion was for the upgrading of the road rather than building a new one though some new stretches might have to be rebuilt for better linkage.
On possibility of giving the state the RM16 billion to allow the state to have a free hand in handling the project, Manyin who is Tebedu assemblyman said that would be quite impossible.
“The RM16 billion is spread over six years. The money will only be paid upon the completion of each section of the project,” said Manyin.