THE Trans Borneo Highway project is facing slight delay as the Land and Survey Department is awaiting necessary funds from the federal government for the purpose of land acquisition.
Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan said the project spanning 73.8 kilometres requires funding of RM194.45 million from the federal government for land acquisition.
“The failure to disburse the necessary funds for the land acquisition has resulted in the scheduled road construction, set to begin in November this year, being unable to commence,” he said.
Awang Tengah, who is also the Minister for Natural Resources and Urban Development said this in his ministerial winding-up speech today (Nov 20).
On a related note, he said several major projects that have been or are being implemented involving land acquisition include the Second Trunk Road/Coastal Highway, the Sarawak Sabah Link Road (SSLR), and the Northern Coastal Highway (NCH), telecommunication towers, and Sarawak Energy Berhad (SEB) transmission lines.
“For the Second Trunk Road/Coastal Highway project, RM220 million provided by the Sarawak government has enabled the Land and Survey Department to complete land acquisition for a 255.6-kilometre stretch of road,” he said.
He added for the SSLR project, RM300 million has been allocated to the Land and Survey Department.
“The land acquisition for the 122-kilometre stretch of road will be completed by the end of this year, while the remaining 275.5 kilometres will be finalised in 2025,” he said.
On the Northern Coastal Highway project, Awang Tengah said RM20 million allocated by the Sarawak government allowed the Land and Survey Department to complete land acquisition for six-kilometres by the end of 2023.
“An additional RM140 million is required to complete land acquisition for the remaining 82.7-kilometre stretch of road,” he said.
Awang Tengah said as of Oct 31, RM11.4 million has been allocated for the acquisition of 449 approved telecommunication tower sites.
“Land acquisition for 244 sites, covering 13.93 hectares, has been completed at a total cost of RM4.1 million. The acquisition of the remaining 205 telecommunication tower sites is targeted for completion in 2025,” he said.
Regarding the land acquisition for SEB Transmission Line projects, he said it involves 35 projects covering 3,131 hectares of land, with a total acquisition cost of approximately RM351.4 million.
“Of these, 20 projects have been completed, involving 710 hectares of land at a compensation cost of RM103.9 million. The acquisition for the remaining 15 projects is targeted for completion in 2025,” he said.
He urged all implementing agencies of the Sarawak government and the federal government to ensure adequate funding is provided and promptly channelled to the Land and Survey Department to finalise the land acquisition process.
