KOTA KINABALU: State and Federal agencies, including the federal Finance Ministry, have been urged to fulfil their promises to complete Sabah’s Pan-Borneo Highway project as soon as possible.

       Sabah Works Minister Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin said a lot of work on the project had been delayed due to various reasons, including the change of management and governments over the past few years.

       He also blamed the previous government’s move to terminate the project delivery partner for the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway without first securing sukuk or bonds as one of the main reasons for the delay.

       He said this caused difficulties for the implementation of the project as funding depends solely on federal allocations, which is only RM1bil per year under the infrastructure allocation.

       “So, RM1bil is only enough for two packages, but there are 22 remaining delayed packages to complete.

       “So at this rate, we need to wait 20 years to get the project complete,” Bung said after launching the Phase 1 Water Supply System project in Lahad Datu on Friday (Jan 7).

       Bung said in Sarawak, the Pan-Borneo Highway was almost 80% completed.

       He said with the constant rainy season in Sabah, roads are being damaged and need immediate attention.

       Meanwhile, he said projects such as water supply and other infrastructure were being implemented in Sabah.

       “We expect to start getting the infrastructure allocations in February and projects that need immediate attention will commence first,” he said.