THE construction of the Sarawak - Sabah Highway bypassing Brunei is already on a fast track following the new Budget approval of RM 7.4 billion, said the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry Sarawak.
Its president Kong Chiong Ung said that based on the latest information, the Sarawak-Sabah Highway already has four confirmed work packages.
"The contracts for two packages of work for this very crucial Sarawak-Sabah link have already been awarded.
"The remaining two packages of work are also finalised and the contracts will be sealed by the end of this year.
"Construction will be fast-tracked. This direct Sarawak-Sabah link will transform the socio-economic future of East Malaysia.
"The Pan Borneo Highway is already changing the socio-economic landscape in Sarawak now.
"The Federal Government has indeed given unprecedented-huge sums of money for these road-infrastructure upgrades in Sarawak and Sabah," he told the media today when reacting to the Budget.
The construction of the Sarawak-Sabah Highway started in the Lawas district.
Lawas is located in the northernmost region of Sarawak, after the Brunei border.
Construction work is currently on the Lawas to Merapok route.
The Limbang to Mulu route is also being constructed while the Limbang to Merarap to Lawas route is in the pipeline.
The Sarawak and federal governments have been talking about building such a highway to link Miri to the northernmost portion of Sarawak to Sabah bypassing Brunei since the 1980s.
However, it is only now that the money is on the table, coming from the Madani Government.
The need for such a highway is vital as the costs of paying travel charges through Brunei and the long queues at the immigration and customs checkpoints caused problems to those travelling daily from Sarawak to Sabah through Brunei and vice versa for social and economic purposes.
There are eight immigration and customs checks that a driver from Miri needs to go through just to get past Brunei to reach Lawas via Limbang and onwards into Sabah.
Miri is separated from Limbang by about 200 kms of the Brunei sultanate.
Limbang is sandwiched between two borders of Brunei while Lawas is divided from Limbang by another piece of Brunei territory.
Lawas town to Sabah is only 30 minutes by road. - October 21, 2024
