MEMBAKUT: A new structure currently being formed to manage the Pan Borneo Highway project will significantly reduce costs, said Sabah Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal.
He assured the public that the billion-ringgit mega project will continue, but using new formulas and approaches which will cut expenditure.
Mohd Shafie was responding to former Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who said that the recent cancellation of the infrastructure project’s Project Delivery Partner (PDP) had caused it to be “abandoned.”
Najib had also said that the decision had caused Kimanis to achieve little economic progress, as it lacks connectivity.
“The project is still on, but we want to save money. The government had spent RM26 billion when the project was managed by the PDP.
“Until now, we have spent RM900 million for land compensation, but there are no roads to be seen (hence the cancellation),” he said during a Christmas and New Year programme here, yesterday.
Mohd Shafie, who is also state Finance Minister, added that the project will have a body chaired by the State Secretary and consist of representatives from the Finance Ministry and Works Ministry at both the state and federal levels.
He said that the decision to cancel the PDP was also based on concerns that the consultancy firm was run by a political party member.
Meanwhile, state Infrastructure Development Minister Datuk Peter Anthony said that after the federal Cabinet cancelled the PDP, the government had saved more than RM1 billion.
As for Najib’s claim that the Pan Borneo Highway is a “gift” from the previous government to the people of Sabah, Peter begged to differ.
“The revenue from Sabah was brought to Kuala Lumpur. By right, it was the federal government’s responsibility to build roads in Sabah. It is not a gift,” he said.