KOTA KINABALU, March 22 ― The current delay to the Pan Borneo Highway project was due to a previous administration’s decision to stop using project delivery partners (PDP), said Sabah Deputy Chief Minister III Datuk Shahelmey Yahya.

Shahelmey, who is also state works minister, said the Warisan administration in 2019 had recommended that the federal government terminate the PDP concept and its agreement.

“However, I am glad to announce that work package (WP) 21 has been completed and opened to the public in 2023,” he said in a statement here today.

The statement was in response to a video of Warisan’s Kota Belud MP Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis who had raised the issue to federal Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi during a parliamentary special chamber session yesterday.

“When the government took over the Pan Borneo Highway project, the Finance Ministry had instructed the Works Ministry to reappoint contractors and consultants who had been appointed by the PDP before,” he said.

He said the current Gabungan Rakyat Sabah government was committed to implementing and completing the Pan Borneo Highway Project.

“The Sabah government has also tried to continue the remaining 20 packages, for which work had not yet started.

“We are grateful, as a result of the hard work and insistence of the Sabah government, the federal government has approved the implementation of the remaining 20 working projects in 2023,” he added.

Shahelmy said the state, through the state Public Works Department had completed all the requirements for the reimplementation of all work packages.

“Design and tender documents are available and the value management lab process was completed by the end of October 2023,” he said.

As of March 22, 2024, he said four work packages ― 12, 13, 14 and 16 ― have had appointed contractors and physical work will begin on April 1, 2024.

He added that the remaining 16 packages were in the procurement process and expected to be finalised by April 2024, with the physical works expected to start the following month.

Yesterday, Linggi also blamed the delays on the changes in project implementation methods and land acquisitions saying that there was also a need for capacity enhancements and existing technical expertise which contributed to the challenges.

“Unlike the Pan Borneo highway project in Sarawak, which commenced in 2015, the project in Sabah began in 2016. Furthermore, only a portion of the 35 Work Packages continued construction, while the remaining work packages, particularly Phase 1B, had to be relooked into due to changes in implementation methods and are expected to commence only this year,” he said.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/03/22/sabah-dcm-blames-pan-borneo-highway-delay-on-previous-warisan-government/124943