Bari (second left) joins the Sarawak/ Federal Governments Action Committee co-chairman Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah (second right) for a coffee break. Also in the photo are (from left) Pending assemblywoman Violet Yong and Tanjung Batu assemblyman Chiew Chiu Sing.
KUCHING: Works Minister Baru Bian has assured that no companies will be axed from the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak (PBHS) project despite the termination of Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) as a project delivery partner (PDP).
Despite this, he said all the 11 works packages (WPCs) involved in the PBHS will be novated (replaced with a new contract) once the PDP is terminated.
“The WPCs by all the main contractors are still going on. I must emphasise this. It’s a non-issue.
“I think the news about terminating contractors is not right. As far as I am concerned, once the LBU is terminated all the WPCs should be novated. That is the idea with this project,” he told the media after co-chairing the third joint Sarawak/ Federal Governments Action Committee at Wisma Bapa Malaysia today.
To a question, he confirmed that termination letter has been issued to LBU last Friday.
“A decision has been made already. A letter has been issued last Friday,” he said.
The Edge had reported on Sept 25 that more companies could face the axe in the Sarawak portion of the Pan Borneo Highway project, following the government’s decision earlier this month to remove LBU as the PDP.
Among the main contractors involved in the PBHS are Maltimur Resources Sdn Bhd, Konsortium URW Sdn Bhd, Konsortium KPE Sdn Bhd, Pekerjaan Piasau Konkerit Sdn Bhd, Samling Resources Sdn Bhd, Zecon Kimlun Consortium Sdn Bhd, HSL DMIA JV Sdn Bhd and Naim Gamuda JV Sdn Bhd.
The Pan Borneo Highway project in Sarawak is said to involve construction of a 1,077km stretch of the highway to be completed through 11 WPCs.
The first WPC stretching a distance of 32.77km from Telok Melano-Sematan had already been completed this January.
LBU had in an earlier press statement of the the physical progress of the project is now 45 per cent which showed much progress has been achieved since the construction of the much-awaited PBHS started in 2016.
The Edge Financial Daily had reported on Sept 6 that the federal government has decided to terminate the PDP agreement for the Sarawak portion of the Pan Borneo Highway project although nearly half of the first phase has been completed.
Quoting sources, it said the decision to terminate the PDP agreement was made after the cabinet’s careful deliberation during a meeting on Sept 11, and it was understood that the rationale of the decision was cost saving.
“It was presented at the cabinet meeting and agreed to. They (LBU) have not been officially notified, but will likely be informed in a few weeks’ time. There will be savings (from the termination of the PDP agreement),” a source said.
According to The Edge, the Ministry of Works is likely to handle the rest of the construction of the highway in Sarawak now with LBU out of the picture.