File pic of a Pan Borneo Highway stretch. — Bernama
KOTA KINABALU: Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said the Sabah Public Works Department (JKR) is projecting the entire 35 packages under phase 1 of the Pan Borneo Highway to be completed in 2040 if the government did not consider other funding initiatives for allocations.
Bung Moktar who is also the state Works Minister said based on 2021 Budget announcement by the Finance Ministry and current trend, it was found that only one package from the remaining 20 packages under phase 1 was approved for 2021.
“Through the projection, Sabah JKR estimated that only five to six packages would be implemented under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP) and only 21 of the 35 packages would be completed up to 2028.
“Now, the implementation of LPB depends solely on development expenditure and the project is constructed by Sabah JKR. The provision of funds is different from the LPB phase 1 which was implemented via Project Delivery Partner (PDP) in which the project cost and duration are fixed. Nonetheless the PDP concept was terminated on Sept 21 2019,” he told the State Legislative Assembly today.
He was replying to a question by Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak (BN-Usukan) who enquired about the latest status of LPB project especially in Kota Belud area.
Bung Moktar, said if the construction of LPB is dependent on allocation through development expenditure, its construction would take a long time.
He proposed that the federal government allow the Sabah government implement the LPB RM40bil highway project on a private financial initiative.
“I am confident the LPB project could be expedited if we adopt a private financial initiative and I will hold discussion with several local companies early next year on the matter, “ he said.
The Sabah LPB project is being carried out in three phases. The first phase encompasses constructing the 706km highway in 35 packages at a cost of RM15.272 billion.
