KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 — A total of RM1.2 billion has been paid by the federal government for land compensation for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) Phase 1 Project so far, said Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said for the Sarawak PBH, the total land compensation payment made was RM737 million.
“The government is bearing the entire cost of compensation, losses and administrative costs to ensure that landowners do not suffer losses,” he said.
He was replying to a question by Isnaraissah Munirah Majilis (Warisan–Kota Belud) on the justification for the surge in the cost of the Sabah PBH Phase 1 Project, which has now reached RM24.889 billion compared with the initial estimate in 2015, and the amount of land compensation during the oral question-and-answer session in the Dewan Rakyat today.
Ahmad said the increase in cost from the initial estimate of RM12.86 billion in 2015 to RM24.889 billion at present was due to the project switching to the Federal Conventional Contractor method following the termination of the Project Delivery Partner (PDP) model in 2019.
According to him, the termination of the PDP model due to national interest factors required a reassessment of the remaining work and scope of the project after five years from the original assessment period.
“From a technical point of view, the increase in the cost of this project was due, among other things, to factors such as changes in scope and design, geotechnical structures and soil treatment as well as large-scale utility relocation works,” he said.
He said the cost of Phase 1A involved 16 work packages with a total cost of RM10.9 billion, while Phase 1B involved 19 work packages with a total cost of RM13.989 billion.
Ahmad said that apart from technical factors, the increase in costs was also influenced by inflation and the increase in the price of major domestic and global construction materials such as iron, bitumen and cement, in addition to higher machinery and labour costs. — Bernama
