Datu Dr Penguang Manggil
MIRI: All projects planned to be rolled out in Marudi and Beluru districts this year have been delayed due to the movement control order (MCO) to contain the Covid-19 pandemic but implementing agencies and stakeholders are now on catch-up mode.
Assistant Minister of Local Government and Housing Datu Dr Penguang Manggil said Public Works Department, district councils of Marudi and Beluru and other implementing agencies have taken action to mitigate the delays.
“Most, if not all, of those projects planned to be rolled out this year were derailed by Covid-19 pandemic and were delayed,” he said.
As such, he is pessimistic that most of the Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) projects and Projek Rakyat in various stages of implementation can be delivered by the end of this year as targeted earlier. The Marudi assemblyman said this when asked by The Borneo Post on the impact of MCO in Marudi.
He was briefed by implementing agencies in Marudi and Beluru on June 24 and July 2 to take stock of the actual project delivery and plans to catch up. These include high impact projects, RTP projects and Projek Rakyat programmes in Marudi and Beluru districts.
“Although these are unavoidable delays, I trust that the implementing agencies will resolve problems or issues arising and ensure that projects are implemented based on needs of the constituents,” he said.
More than RM500 million worth of road, electricity, treated water supply, internet connectivity, modern agriculture and education projects have been allocated under the development master plan for Marudi constituency.
The high impact projects include Marudi bridge costing RM75 million, Marudi Waterfront (RM23 million), Marudi-Long Terawan road (RM43 million), Sungai Arang bridge extension (RM22 million) and five bailey bridges along Miri-Marudi road (RM14.7 million), Works on all ongoing or new infrastructure projects ground to a halt when MCO was imposed on March 18 this year.
They were only allowed to resume from June 10 as Malaysia entered the recovery phase of MCO. Meanwhile, Penguang said he was happy with the progress of the Marudi waterfront project although it was slightly behind schedule while the contractor had assured that works on the Marudi bridge would pick up this month.
The new Petronas kiosk project has also taken off last month while the retaining wall project near Fort Hose under the Drainage and Irrigation Department has yet to restart.
He is pleased that the Tinjar Phase II project under Rural Water Supply Department (JBALB) has been tendered out while road and rural electrification projects in lower Baram and lower Bakong, Peking and lower Tinjar are in progress.