Pan Borneo implementation to be transferred to Sabah govt soon

KOTA KINABALU: Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony said the process of transferring the Pan Borneo Project implementation to the state government would be completed very soon.

Peter said that a meeting between the Ministry of Works and the Public Works Department ( PWD) Sabah would be held today to discuss the matter.

“We are in the final stages and tomorrow (Wednesday) there will be a meeting with the Ministry of Works. I believe that we will come to a decision in the Federal level.

I am confident that the Pan Borneo Project implementation will be fully surrendered to the state government.

“We have the ability to implement this. In PWD, we have all sorts of expertise and all the requirements needed to implement the Pan Borneo Project,” Peter said when met at the PWD Sabah Recognition and Appreciation Ceremony on Tuesday.

In line with Chief Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal’s call, the state government had decided to transfer to PWD Sabah, State Finance Ministry and the State Economic Planning Unit.

“I believe that it will be done very soon.

Some of these implementations had to transferred - for example the appointment of new contractors as some of the contracts of the contractors for phase one had been terminated due to their poor quality and record.

“We are still waiting to see whether these contractors would be appointed in the state level or otherwise,” he added.

“The state will be able to save more than RM2 billion if it were to take over the Pan Borneo Project implementation,” Peter reckoned.

Based on the records Peter received, he was made to understand that the project progress had been halted by many problems, citing the quality of some of the construction materials chosen as one of the issues.

These records proved that the Pan Borneo Project was in need of restructuring, he stressed.