DISRUPTIONS caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, coupled with the earlier termination of the project delivery partner (PDP), could delay the completion of the Pan Borneo highway by about a year and a half, Works Minister Fadillah Yusof said.

Fadillah said when the previous Pakatan Harapan (PH) government terminated Lebuhraya Borneo Utara as the federal government’s project partner to supervise the RM16.12 billion highway project, it had set the completion target date back by a year.

The arrangement was terminated on February 20 last year.

Border closure and travel restrictions due to Covid-19 pandemic have caused further delays. 

He said these had led to a shortage of labour with some contractors reporting they are working with 60% to 70% of the labour they needed. 

Fadillah said now his Works Ministry “is finding ways on fast-tracking the completion (deadline)”. 

One of the ways, he added, was by appointing specialist companies to help the Public Works Department in finding the ways and in monitoring the progress of work done. 

He said as of January, 60% of the 1,077km stretch in Sarawak has been completed while it was only 45% in the Sabah stretch. 

While all 11 work packages for the Sarawak stretch have been awarded, Fadillah said five of the 10 work packages for the Sabah stretch are still in the tender process. 

The role of the PDP in the highway projects came under scrutiny when the PH took power in Putrajaya in May 2018. 

Fadillah’s successor Baru Bian in October 2019 had told Parliament a change in the PDP model would not affect the scope, safety and continuity of the project. 

Baru, in a written reply to Fadillah who wanted to know the status of the highway construction and whether the termination of its PDP will affect the quality and construction duration for the project, said also the termination was in line with the efforts of the government to optimise the cost of projects which give the highest impact to the country.

The highway was originally targeted for completion in June this year. 

With the termination of the PDP, the date has been set to June next year. – March 19, 2021.