It was reported in the news recently that the opening of the Mile 6 and Mile 7 flyovers’ slow and fast lanes has been delayed due to a shortage of bitumen supply here since early last month.
KUCHING (July 9): Borneo Asphalt Sdn Bhd (BASB) is willing to support Public Works Department (JKR) contractors on any shortfall of bitumen supply.
In a statement yesterday, its general manager Zamsury Kushaili said that the company currently has 3,000 metric tonnes of bitumen available, which under normal circumstances should be able to cover 30 kilometres of road construction.
“The objective of setting up BASB, which commenced operations in January 2021, was to ensure uninterrupted supplies of bitumen for road construction in Sarawak, particularly the Pan Borneo Highway and we are committed to fulfil that aspiration,” he said.
On the same token, Independent Oil Terminal (IOT) head Ismail Julaihi clarified that there was only a minor glitch on July 1, which was immediately rectified within 24 hours according to the normal industry standards.
“The glitch does not affect the lifting of bitumen to the market.
“Currently, we have ample bitumen stock available in our storage. The contractors are always welcome to get their supplies at IOT depot at any time,” he said.
Both BASB and IOT bitumen depots are located at Senari Synergy Industrial Complex here and have been handling bitumen liftings of 200 to 250 metric tonnes per day.
It was reported in the news recently that the opening of the Mile 6 and Mile 7 flyovers’ slow and fast lanes has been delayed due to a shortage of bitumen supply here since early last month.
JKR’s Pan Borneo Highway Unit said that the bitumen supplier here was facing delayed shipment of bitumen supply from Singapore.
“To further complicate the situation, one of the independent oil terminals (IOT) in Sejingkat, Kuching, faced a breakdown last month,” it said.