KINABATANGAN, Jan 9 — Contractors of Phase 1B of the Pan Borneo Highway project need to ensure that the construction of the project runs smoothly and is carried out according to quality, time and cost specifications.

Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said problems that arose, such as issues of land acquisition and utility relocation encountered during the implementation of Phase 1A, need to be avoided in Phase 1B.

He said the Public Works Department (JKR) is working to shorten the land acquisition and utility relocation period from two years to one year by appointing private valuers.

“Previously, we did not have enough appraisers, only six of them in Sabah. Therefore, the monthly meeting (of the steering committee for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project) decided to appoint private valuers to speed up the process of land acquisition.

“This step is in line with the Prime Minister’s (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) message for the ministry to adopt a sense of urgency across all projects facing various problems and requiring immediate action,” he told reporters after visiting the site of Work Package 25 of the Pan Borneo Highway Phase 1B project here today.

The implementation of the Pan Borneo Highway Sabah Phase 1B project cost a total of RM14 billion, comprising RM5 billion in development allocation and RM9 billion through loans.

Regarding Phase 1A, which involves a 318-kilometre (km) stretch, Ahmad said physical work progress is at 86.53 per cent, while for Phase 1B, which involves a 388-km stretch, physical progress is at 12.27 per cent. — Bernama