HSL and firms win Rm138mil jobs in Score
KUCHING: Hock Seng Lee Bhd (HSL) and five other companies have been awarded infrastructure projects worth about Rm138mil in the Sarawak Corridor of Renewable Energy’s (Score) extended boundary area in central region.
The fast-track projects represent the first phase of an entire 34 projects planned by the Upper Rajang Development Agency (URDA).
It oversees a development area of 41,000 sq km and covering the riverine towns of Kapit, Kanowit, Song, Belaga and Bukit Mabong.
The Upper Rajang Basin is home to the 2,400MW Bakun hydroelectric dam, 944MW Murum dam and the 1,285MW Baleh dam project currently under construction.
The Sarawak government has allocated Rm1.5bil to fund the projects that would improve road connectivity in the URDA area to facilitate the opening up of large tracts of land for economic trigger projects, like commercial agriculture, aquaculture, forestry ,tourism and plantations.
URDA headed by chairman Tan Sri James Masing, who is also Sarawak Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Infrastructure and Ports Development, signed the agreements with the six companies recently.
HSL’S contract worth about Rm24.7mil is for the construction of the Ng Machan bridge and upgrading of roads for completion in 18 months.
The single largest contract worth about Rm45.2mil was awarded to WHE Contract Sdn Bhd, which will upgrade a 12.3km former timber logging road to Tunoh Scheme and the replacement of one bridge.
Hanayin Engineering Sdn Bhd secured a Rm37.3mil contract to build a new 10.05km road to Ng Geremai, Kanowit.
The fourth contract valued at Rm13.7mil involved the construction of a 2.7km access road to Tunoh Scheme by Davilla Construction Sdn Bhd.
Kemudi Harta Sdn Bhd will upgrade a 4.2km acess road to Umna Sambop for about Rm15.6mil while Bumi Utara Construction Sdn Bhd was given a Rm1.93mil contract to upgrade an existing village road to SK Long Urun.
Masing said these projects would be fast tracked for completion within two years.
For the remaining 28 projects,he said these are in the design stage.
“The development projects will transform the entire area under URDA,” he said, adding that a Rm100mil airport has been planned for Tunoh in Kapit
A road linking Kapit and Song is under construction and when ready next year, it would be accessible to Sibu and Kuching.
URDA is one of the three development agencies – the other Northern Regional Development Agency and Highland Development Agency – set up by the Sarawak government to accelerate the development of the green-field areas in Score hinterland.
On the Sarawak Coastal Highway project, Masing said the Sarawak government had decided to take over the cost of constructing three major bridges which had been put on hold by the federal government.