THE Federal Government has appointed an expert railway construction consultant to start ground surveys for the ambitious Sarawak-Sabah-Kalimantan mega Trans-Borneo Railway project to link east Malaysia with the new Indonesian capital of Nusantara in Kalimantan.
Putrajaya has already given the greenlight for the hiring of the consultant appointed by the Federal Transport Ministry, said deputy federal Transport Minister Datuk Hasbi Habibollah today.
Speaking at a Transport Ministry vehicle licensing event in Miri, he said the ground survey will start next month.
"We have already appointed the proposed Trans Borneo Railway project survey consultant.
"Sometime next month, the railway consultant will begin a ground study to check out feasible routes and the study across Sarawak and Sabah will take a year.
"Our ministry will then look at the study recommendations and proceed with consultations with our Indonesian counterparts. We wait for updates from the consultant," he said.
Earlier this year, the Federal Works Ministry in Putrajaya had also given a big "yes" to the ambitious plan to construct this mega railway project on Borneo Island.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi had said his ministry had received a preliminary proposal on this Trans Borneo Railway Project. - October 12, 2024
