MIRI – The federal government will step in to help repair almost 600 km of rural roads in northern and central Sarawak that are in horrendous condition.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the task will be undertaken by the federal Rural and Regional Development Ministry, of which he leads.
Speaking during a ministry meeting to coordinate the move with Sarawak ministries in Kuching late yesterday, he said the roads identified so far are logging roads and “Jiwa Murni project” roads that were constructed in the past years by the Army Corps.
“The ministry has so far identified about 578 km of rural roads in Sarawak that are in bad shape and require urgent repair,” he was quoted as saying by TV Sarawak today.
“These roads identified for urgent repairs are Jiwa Murni roads and were used as logging roads also.
“We have set a target date of getting the repair done before Christmas, December 25 this year.
“This is not just due to the Christmas festivities but also to enable better land links for the big population of rural folks,” he said.
Zahid said the rural roads identified so far for urgent repairs are mostly located in the rural regions of Miri, Baram, Limbang (in northern Sarawak) and Kapit and Belaga (in central Sarawak).
The routes to be repaired starting middle of this month are the Kuala Mendalam link, Ba Kelalan to Bario mountain road (in Limbang district), and the Sepupuk-Niah road (in Miri district).
He said the ministry will give top priority to those rural roads that are no longer being used by timber logging operators.
Those still being used for logging operations will be repaired after the loggers have finished their work as otherwise, the logging trucks will damage the roads again, he said.
Sarawak has more than 6,000 rural settlements.
They are mostly linked by rural roads and rivers, and many are still gravel and mud paths.
In northern and central Sarawak, these roads are being used daily by logging operators.
The Army Corps, in the late 1990s, carried out numerous projects to upgrade rural Sarawak roads under its Jiwa Murni programme by widening and tar-sealing them.
Unfortunately, many of these have since seen deterioration due to the onslaught of weather and heavy usage by logging trucks and lorries of plantation companies. – The Vibes, July 4, 2023
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