SIBU: The Public Works Department (JKR) has clarified that a RM50,000 wooden jetty in Kampung Mutap, Bekenu was built at the request of the village chief.

       In response to viral social media posts that said the project and its cost was unjustified, the department said in a Facebook post on Sunday (April 10) in its "Corporate Communication JKR Sarawak" page that Miri JKR had made a site visit to Kampung Mutap on Sept 21 last year.

       During that visit, it said the village head rejected its proposal for a steel jetty as it was more expensive and would have been smaller, compared to one made of belian timber.

       "In view of the higher expenditure required, the ketua kampung (village chief) rejected the proposed steel jetty and opted for the wooden jetty instead.

       "The design requested by the village chief was 30m long with a timber shed," the department added.

       A representative from the department's Miri branch had also informed the village chief that the budget was limited to RM50,000.

       "As a result, the chief agreed to a design within the allocated budget. In view of the constraints, he was to request for additional funds from the local elected representative to (build) the second phase of the jetty," the post read.

       The estimated cost was based on Sarawak JKR's Schedule of Rates for the Year 2020 with a rate of RM9,000 per cubic metre for belian timber, apparently lower than the current market rate.

       "In establishing the cost of RM50,000, various factors had been taken into account, inter alia, the condition of road access to Kg Mutap, logistics as well as safety measures considering that the area is infested with crocodiles.

       "With the budget of RM50,000, JKR managed to design the jetty up to 15m in length with two staircases," it said.

       Other important concerns included the fact that road access to Kampung Mutap was a plantation road, making the trip troublesome.

       According to JKR, the selection of the contractor was done on Nov 30 with oversight from residents and representatives of other government agencies.

       Subsequently, contractor Bukit Balat Co was awarded the project and work began in March. The whole project is expected to be completed on June 6.