Harden: Ulu Paku road upgrading project completion delayed to April 2024

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Harden (second right) during a site visit.

SRI AMAN (March 25): The Ulu Paku Road upgrading project, which should have been completed this July, has been extended to April next year, said Datuk Francis Harden Hollis.

In announcing this, the Deputy Minister of Education, Innovation and Talent Development II said the extension was due to delays in submitting design changes from the original plan and further compounded by the factor.

“Following that, an additional 219 days were approved following an application for an extension of time by the companies involved.

“We were also told that the physical progress of the project as of Feb 2023 has fallen behind by 58.2 per cent – which is 18.95 per cent compared to the expected progress of 77.15 per cent,” he said in a briefing on the project’s progress here on Friday.

With such delays, Harden strongly reminded the contractor to give their full commitment and urged them to speed up construction work to ensure the project will be completed by the new date.

“It is our hope that this project will run smoothly. The contractor must give full commitment in completing the project according to the new approved period.

“Increase the number of workers and facilities on site so that work equipment needs are always available,” he said.

For the record, the project costing RM19.1 million started on Jan 13, 2022 and was expected to be completed within 18 months.

Meanwhile, Harden also visited the proposed project site, which will connect Jalan Ulu Paku from SK Paku to Kampung Sungai Putong, including the border of Kalimantan, Indonesia.

The Simanggang assemblyman said the road connecting the border needed to be realised.

“The same goes for the proposal to build an Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security Complex in the area. It is an initial preparation to meet the number of valid entry points when Indonesia moves its administrative centre to Kalimantan,” he said.