Sarawak focuses on building coastal roads
KUCHING: The Sarawak government will focus on the construction of coastal roads in Sarawak in the next three to six years.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg said these roads will be built mainly in three areas under the Regional Corridor Development Authority (Recoda).
In addition, he said three airports will be built in Tunoh, Kapit; Spaoh, Betong; and Lawas during the same period
“We are going to build a lot of coastal roads in addition to the coastal road network and the second trunk road project which will be fully funded by the Sarawak government.
“The construction of these roads and the airports will be built in areas under Recoda’s three development agencies namely the Upper Rajang Development Agency (Urda), the Highland Development Agency (HDA) and the Northern Region Development Agency (NRDA),” he told a press conference after officiating the closing ceremony of the Seminar on Road Technology and Technical Manpower in Sarawak 2019 at a leading hotel here yesterday.
In view of this, he said Sarawak needs the latest technology, engineers and technical manpower to oversee the projects.
“The engineers and technical workers have to be able to construct roads on our soil especially on our peat land.
“Once they have constructed the roads, the maintenance of the roads is also important so that the level of the roads are still there and remain compact over time.”
Earlier in his speech, Abang Johari said the state government will continue with the construction of the second truck road project and the coastal road network as it is crucial in developing the socio-economy of the people particularly those who live n the interior and coastal areas.
“This year, we have allocated a development fund of RM9 billion out of the RM11 billion state budget and starting from this year, we will allocate funds to build our road connectivity and bridges.
“For this purpose, we have to look at the appropriate technology and maintenance of roads which is very imporant as road connectivity will further develop the state’s economy,” he said.
For Sarawak to move forward, he said the state government must be able to provide basic infrastructure including digital, high-speed internet; education and training that matches with the needs of the economy and be visionary in terms of Sarawak’s locality and position in the integrated world economy.
“We must make use of our comparative advantages and use that as our strength to increase our gross domestic product (GDP) and increase the income for our people be it in urban or rural,” he added.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing, Assistant Minister of Coastal Road Datuk Julaihi Narawi, Assistant Minister of Transportation Datuk Dr Jerip Susil, Assistant Minister of Native Laws and Customs Datuk John Sikie Tayai and Tanjong Datu assemblywoman Datuk Amar Jamilah Anu.