KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 20 — The Works Ministry today handed over the letter of appointment to the Sarawak Public Works Department (Sarawak PWD) to be the Superintending Officer (SO) in implementing the state’s section of the Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) project.

With the appointment, Sarawak PWD according to the minister Baru Bian, will be responsible for monitoring and supervising the implementation of the highway project as well as managing the administration of contracts.

The Superintending Officer Representative (SOR) will be responsible for assisting SO in monitoring and executing the project.

The new direction taken to implement the highway project is a testament of the Federal Government's commitment to continue developing the infrastructure for the development of the state and the well-being of the local people, he said at handing over ceremony of the appointment letter today.

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The minister has also submitted a plan for PBH Sarawak project with the end of Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) contract as the highway’s Project Delivery Partner (PDP), effective today (Feb 20, 2020).

The estimated savings for the PBH Sarawak project based on the overall difference in development costs between the PDP and conventional methods is RM2.865 billion.

However, the final cost will only be realised after the full evaluation is carried out in the future, he said.

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The PBH Sarawak project will now be implemented through conventional method, which will see the Works Ministry taking over the implementation of the project in collaboration with the federal PWD and the Sarawak PWD.

Through this method, the federal PWD will act as an Independent Consulting Engineer (ICE) in advising the Works Ministry and Sarawak PWD to ensure compliance with the technical specifications and periodic audits.

The Works Ministry has also displayed continuation of the construction work on the 11 Work Packages’ Contractors (WPC) and the re-appointment of 40 consulting contracts by the government based on the remaining current contractual terms, he said.

The termination of project implementation through the PDP contract aims to reduce the financial implications borne by the government through the utilisation of expertise via the Technical Agency (Sarawak PWD and PWD).

In addition, it also enhances the project implementation’s structure by maintaining the necessary consultancy contracting services without compromising the scope, security and sustainability of the project.

In addition, Traffic Management and maintenance during construction plans will be improved through direct and ongoing monitoring by the ministry and JKR Sarawak.

LPB Sarawak is part of the Trans Borneo Highway which will link with the 786.41 km LPB in Sabah, the 425 km Sarawak-Sabah Link Road Network (SSLR) and 40 km highway from Kalabakan to Serundong in Sabah.

The highway will also be connected to Simanggaris in Kalimantan (Indonesia) by the 3,901 km Trans-Kalimantan Highway South, eventually encompassing the whole of Borneo, connecting nearly every coastal town and coastline in Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia and Brunei. — Bernama