New Sandakan bus terminal in ‘sorry state’
SANDAKAN: While the Sandakan Integrated Bus Terminal at Mile 2.5 here was completed before the 14th general election, the public may not be able to enjoy the facility soon.
Elopura assemblyman Calvin Chong who visited the terminal yesterday found that the building was in a sorry state, with faulty doors and windows, wrongly installed pipes and electrical wires.
“The roads were even built with low quality materials. The terminal is not even utilized yet but the road is already starting to show signs of damage.
“There is no ventilation in the building as the windows could not be opened. The building is also built on swampy land, so underground construction must be handled carefully to (prevent) soil erosion and threaten the entire terrain,” Chong said.
He said the terminal would not be opened soon as there would be a lot of adjustments and repairing to be done in order for the terminal to be safe for use by the locals and tourists.
Chong said he would be getting engineers and relevant personnel to inspect the site again to get a more accurate picture on the condition of the terminal, and he would be contacting the contractors in charge to inquire from them of the problems.
Meanwhile, Minister of Health and Wellbeing cum Sandakan parliament member Stephen Wong Tien Fatt also inspected the terminal later yesterday.
“I am really not satisfied with the progress and condition of the terminal. The funding was provided and the time was provided. I do not know why the terminal is like this today. We cannot open this terminal; there is no point opening it if it cannot be utilized,” he said.
Wong said he had received calls from express bus companies who inquired about the opening date of the terminal, but he was surprised to find that the terminal was in a poor state.
“Parts of the road are already damaged. The condition inside the building is also rundown,” he added.
Former Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman had visited the RM25.2 million terminal in January, and announced that the terminal was physically completed and waiting for the installation of the Terminal Operating System (TOS).
Musa announced then that the terminal was going to be launched soon.
The terminal project was funded by the previous federal government (RM16.2 million) and state government (RM9 million).
The bus terminal will cater to express buses to and from Sandakan, Tawau, Lahad Datu, Semporna, and Lahad Datu, which is the main transportation mode linking the main towns in the east coast to Kota Kinabalu and Ranau.
Currently, the bus terminal in Sandakan is operated temporarily at Bandar Letat, Mile 3.