RM61.71 mln spent on 218 projects this year
KUCHING: An estimated RM61.71 million has been spent on 218 projects by local authorities under the Ministry of Public Health, Housing and Local Government this year.
Its minister Dato Sri Dr Sim Kui Hian said his ministry has been allocated RM131.25 million under State Funding for the implementation of various projects by 24 Local Authorities this year.
“Until Nov 3, RM61.71 million (47.02 per cent) has been allocated for 218 infrastructure projects such as road and drainage improvements, coastal area improvements, market upgrades, provision of street lights, traffic lights, public toilets, public libraries, urban beautification and landscape and rural facilities.
“All the projects are in various stages of implementation by the local authorities,” he said during his ministerial winding-up speech at the State Legislative Assembly yesterday.
The Deputy Premier also said the Rural Transformation Project (RTP) was one of the Sarawak government’s important initiatives in developing rural areas by building public facilities and infrastructure for the rural communities.
He said under the initiative, local authorities have been allocated RM97.5 million in 2021 consisting of 716 projects and RM123.4 million in 2022 consisting of 830 projects.
“To date, 572 and 102 projects have been completed in 2021 and 2022 respectively. The remaining 144 and 728 projects for 2021 and 2022 are in various stages of implementation by various local authorities.
“Since 2018, 314 projects have been approved under the People’s Project from the Sarawak government with a total allocation of RM1.81 billion for my ministry.
“There are 14 approved projects in 2022 with a total value of RM224.6 million and these projects are implemented by various agencies including local authorities. To date, 188 projects have been completed while 126 are in various stages of implementation,” he said.
According to Dr Sim, regular road maintenance programmes are also necessary to ensure that existing roads are in optimal condition.
He said a total of RM305.2 million had been approved under the Malaysian Road Record Information System (Marris) this year to maintain state roads including road furniture, road shoulders, roadside drains and so on in local authority areas.
He said that until October 31, 2022, RM241.8 million had been distributed.
Also, the federal Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) allocated RM32.7 million in 2022 for 26 PBTs in Sarawak to implement 238 minor public facilities, public facilities and infrastructure projects.
“Under the Urban Poor Eradication Programme (PPKB), in 2022 KPKT allocated RM7.45 million to repair 438 houses in Sarawak.
“My ministry will continue to bid for more funding under this programme for 2023,” he said.