THE appointment of a project management consultant (PMC) for the 1,077km stretch of the Pan Borneo Highway in Sarawak could be made next month, said Works Minister Fadillah Yusof.

He said apart from a few loose ends to tie up, the appointment is only waiting for the nod from the Ministry of Finance.

“The company to be appointed is more or less firmed up,” he told reporters in Kuching this afternoon.

Fadillah said there is a need for a PMC as the Sarawak Public Works Department is already bogged down with work on state and federal projects.

He also made it clear the appointment of the PMC is not a return to the controversial Project Delivery Partner (PDP) system introduced by Barisan Nasional, which was later disbanded by the Pakatan Harapan government after they took power in 2018.

The PDP then was Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU), which was appointed by the government to deliver the RM16.48 billion project.

He said this PMC will only be a consultant to the government under the supervision of the Sarawak Public Works Department.

“They will assist JKR Sarawak not only to monitor the project but also do verification of all the work done by the package contractors.”

The highway was originally targeted for completion in early 2022 but that date has been pushed to the first quarter of 2023.

Fadillah said this was a realistic timeframe given the chaos caused by the termination of LBU as the PDP, the many restrictions put in place in light of the Covid-19 pandemic and the shortage of foreign workers due to border closure.

The highway currently is 51% completed, way short of the projected target of 62% by the end of this year.

Fadillah hoped the PMC could speed up work and meet the 70% completion target by the end of next year.

“Hopefully, too, the Covid-19 pandemic will be over by then and more workers can come in,” he added. – December 19, 2020.