Malaysia’s Pan Borneo Highway To Bypass Brunei

Kuching - The proposed Pan Borneo Highway, bypassing Brunei, to link Sarawak and Sabah, is expected to be implemented under the Ninth Malaysia Plan once a feasibility study on the RMl billion project is approved.

Works Ministry Parliamentary Secretary Datuk Yong Khoon Seng said Saturday the study, which took into account the geographical and environmental aspects, was now 40 per cent completed, a Bernama report said.

"We (ministry) have already appointed a consultant to look into the proposed 260km alternative route and make sure the environment is being preserved," he told reporters after launching the Street Soccer competition, organised by Radio Television Malaysia (RTM) Sarawak in conjunction with its 50th anniversary celebrations here.

About 33 teams from throughout the state are participating in the two-day event.

Yong said the completion of the project, linking Miri to Limbang and Lawas in Sarawak and Sipitang in Sabah, would enable the people in both states to move without any restriction and generate economic activities in areas along the highway.

At present, travellers needed to pass through the Brunei immigration checkpoints at Sungai Tujoh, Kuala Lurah, Puni and Batu Apoi in Temburong before entering Malaysia.

An additional RM20 million had been allocated for the project, which faced piling difficulties on the river bed due to fast flowing currents, he said.

Under the current Malaysia Plan, he said, about 10 per cent of the total budget was spent on infrastructure development, especially for the construction of coastal and rural roads in Sabah and Sarawak as they still lag behind.

The ministry received a total allocation of RM100 billion under the Eighth Malaysia Plan and an additional RM50 billion under its mid-term review, he said. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

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