THE DELAY in constructing the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah stemmed largely from the termination of the appointment of the project delivery partner (PDP) by the previous state government under Warisan, claims the present administration.
Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmy Yahya said the termination of the PDP and subsequently of the agreement was done in 2019 following the recommendation of the then administration.
He said that the move was “incorrect” as the termination of the PDP agreement led to the model to finance the project to also be terminated.
“Through the PDP agreement, the financial model was expected to be sufficient through development allocation and from the issuance of Sukuk by DanaInfra,” he said, referring to DanaInfra Nasional Berhad, a government-linked infrastructure financing entity.
“However, after the termination of the PDP agreement, the financial resources were only through development allocation, which is very limited.
“This resulted that only 15 packages out of a total of 35 being implemented, while the remaining 20 packages were suspended and they were only recently re-approved in 2023,” said Shahelmy, who is state works minister, in Kota Kinabalu recently.
He said this in response to a viral video of Warisan’s Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis questioning the delay of the Pan Borneo project to Federal Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi during the parliamentary special chamber session held last week.
Munirah had demanded the federal government to investigate the officers and individuals involved in approving the awarding the contracts when referencing the auditor-general’s 2019 report.
Highlighting the Lahad Datu bypass works package, Munirah said that the contractor had failed to meet the basic requirements, lacked the financial capabilities, experience, technical workers and basic equipment when citing the report.
“As a result, the progress of work done by the contractor had fallen behind schedule at the time,” she said.
Shahelmy however stressed that the report made recommendations aimed at addressing weaknesses, but it gave no directive to undertake action or investigation on any specific officers.
Moreover, he said, the Works Ministry had reappointed the same contractors and consultants appointed by the PDP when the government took over the project.
Aside from this, Shahelmy said, the Lahad Datu bypass was already opened to the public following its completion in 2023.
Shahelmy also noted the implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah was different from that in Sarawak where the Sukuk issuance had been carried out first to ensure enough funds to implement all the work packages in the neighbouring state.
He stressed that the state government remains committed to complete the Sabah portion of the highway and currently doing all it can to finish the remaining 20 packages, which have not yet started.
“As of March 22, this year, four packages – WP12, 13, 14 and 16 – already saw the appointment of contractors with physical work expected to commence on April 1, 2024.
“As for the remaining 16 packages, they are currently in the process of acquisition and will be finalised also in April, while physical work is expected to commence in May,” he said. – The Vibes, March 24, 2024
