‘Villages in Pulau Bruit to be connected by tar-sealed roads’
SARIKEI: All 15 villages in Pulau Bruit near here are expected to be connected by tarsealed roads under the current Malaysia Plan.
Seven villages on the west bank of the island will be the first to be connected by tar-sealed roads with an allocation of RM29 million approved by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development for the second phase of the project.
Member of Parliament for Tanjung Manis, Datuk Norah Tun Rahman, disclosed this after she was briefed by a civil engineer from State Public Works Department (JKR) headquarters, Mohd Zulkhalid Afandi, and an engineer from JKR Mukah, Satwant Singh, during her working visit to the project’s site in Kampung Salah Kechi, Bruit on Wednesday.
The RM29-million road project is to start from Kampung Tekajaong on the north west tip of the island to Kampung Salah Kechil passing through Kampung Penipah, she said, adding the 8.125km road would be connected to the 7.95km Kampung Penuai/ Kampung Penibong/ Kampung Betanak/Kampung Salah Kechil gravel- road which had been completed with an allocation of RM15 million under the first phase of the project.
“With the RM29- million allocation, the whole stretch of the JKR R1 standard 19km road from Kampung Tekajong to Kampung Penuai would be tarsealed,” she said.
She added that the project, which is still in the designing stage, will be tendered out before September and construction works are expected to commence by this year- end, and like the first phase, the second phase is expected to take about 15 months
With the RM29-million allocation, the whole stretch of the JKR R1 standard 19km road from Kampung Tekajong to Kampung Penuai would be tar-sealed. Datuk Norah Tun Rahman, Member of Parliament for Tanjung Manis
to complete or by the middle of next year.
The next project would be the about 16.5km road from Kampung Bruit on the north east tip of the island to Kampung Sungai Nai which would connect all the villages on the west bank; namely Kampung Parit Badong, Kampung Kut, Kampung Itol, Kampung Sai and Kampung Semop.
Next on the plan are an 11km stretch from Kampung Sungai Nai on the west bank to Kampung Penuai on the east coast; a 10km stretch from Kampung Sedi to Kampung Sebako on the south west tip; and a 9km stretch from Kampung Sebako to Sungai Kelupu. The much-awaited road connectivity would certainly bring significant and positive impact on the socio-economic development of the about 11,000 islanders who are mainly fishermen and farmers, she pointed out.
She said the people would also be able to enjoy a convenient and safe mode of transportation, unlike now when they still have to depend on river and brave the rough seas to go to other villages.
Moreover, the people were still haunted by a boat-capsize tragedy in early 2014 which killed 10 people who were returning home to Kampung Tekajong on the north-west coast after attending a relative’s wedding in Kampung Sai on the south- east coast, she added.
Norah also planned to organise a soft launching ceremony for the almost completed stretch from Kampung Penuai to Kampung Salah Kechil before Hari Raya Aidilfitri.