CMS committed to Sarawak’s road maintenance, repair issues

KUCHING: Roads are often overlooked as the important connector it is: linking vast areas, allowing for safe passage between destinations and connecting towns to stimulate economic and social development.

Maintaining those roads play a crucial factor in keeping the smooth flow of traffic, especially considering Sarawak has over 51,000 kilometres of road.

Thus, when cases of blockages or land slippages occur, it becomes top priority for CMS Roads Sdn Bhd ( CMS Roads) to respond quickly and efficiently. In view of these issues, CMS Group chief executive officer – operations Goh Chii Bing has now made clarifications on this matter in an exclusive interview with The Borneo Post:

Question: Over the past few months there seems to be an increasing number of incidents where road maintenance and repairs have been reported by the public and have made news headlines. Why is this so?

Goh: There is a general expectation by the public that there is no disruption to road connectivity at all times, but in truth, this is not realistic. The total road length in Sarawak is over 51,000 kilometres (km), spread across all types of terrain. Instances of land slippage or soil erosion occur and heavy rains are predominantly the cause of these incidents, especially during the monsoon season.

Question: Is there a long-term solution to solve road damage caused by the heavy rains, land slippage and soil erosion?

Goh: One of the things that makes Sarawak so beautiful is our amazing geography and topography. So, on one hand, we have absolutely breath taking scenery.

On the other hand, extremely challenging terrain. Sometimes the land slippage starts a couple of hundred metres above the road level and washes down and there is nothing anyone can do about that. Also, when we talk about heavy rains, we are talking about serious volumes of water. In the course of 2018, Sarawak received between 330 and 460 centimeters of rain; that is 1.75-times higher than the average 200 to 250 centimeters in Peninsula Malaysia. One other factor to consider is that some of these areas have developments and massive land clearing higher up the slope, this again is a factor when it comes to land slippage and erosion. This is why it is absolutely crucial that we build our roads at the highest possible quality standards and respond to any reports as fast as possible. Turn to Page B2, Col 5

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