PETALING JAYA: The Sabah state government will probably consider a private finance initiative (PFI) for the second phase of the Pan Borneo Highway, state works minister Bung Moktar Radin said today.
Speaking in Tongod, in the interior, Bung hoped work on the first phase of the highway in Sabah could be completed quickly.
He said it was immaterial whether the project was financed by government allocations or a PFI, Bernama reported.
Bung’s comment comes a day after federal works minister Fadillah Yusof said on Friday that his ministry will not implement the project through PFI, as proposed by the state government, in order to speed up the project.
“There is no more (PFI). The implementation and procurement methods are currently being finalised through the finance ministry,” Fadillah told reporters in Sandakan.
Bung, who was in Tongod for the groundbreaking of a new road to Keningau, said it would provide another alternative route to the west coast of Sabah.
The 40km road, costing RM320 million, connects Kampung Linayukan near Tongod with Kamping Sinaron in Keningau and is expected to be ready in 2024.
The impact is huge, he said. Tongod people wanting to go to Keningau have to go through Kota Kinabalu, a 315km journey. The new road will cut the distance to 200km, Bung said.
