KUALA LUMPUR, 20 Feb (NNN-BERNAMA) — An estimated savings of RM2.865 billion could be possible for the Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) Sarawak project based on the overall difference in the development cost between that of the Project Delivery Partner (PDP)’s model and a conventional method.
However, the final amount of savings can only be realised after a full evaluation is carried out in the future, Works Minister Baru Bian said.
The estimated savings took into account the development cost of RM21.857 billion including construction costs based on the PDP model.
“Through the conventional method which is the new approach of the project, the overall development cost of the project is RM18.992 billion, taking into account the PDP’s costs until the end of the PDP (contract) on February 20, 2020,” he said in Kuching, Sarawak today.
With the abolition of further PDP fees payment for both the PBH Sarawak and PBH Sabah projects, the estimated saving is RM1.2 billion (PDP fee for PBH Sabah of RM0.640 billion and PBH Sarawak fee of RM0.559 billion ).
The Sarawak’s section of PBH covers 11 packages totalling 786.41 km which commenced in October 2015.
A work package, WPC01 (Teluk Melano to Semantan for 33 km) was completed on schedule on Jan 6, 2019, he said.
PBH Sarawak is part of the Trans Borneo Highway, which will link with the 786.41 km Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah, the 425 km Jalan Sarawak-Sabah Link Road (SSLR) and a 40 km highway from Kalabakan to Serundong in Sabah.
The highway will also be connected to Simanggaris in Kalimantan (Indonesia) by the 3,901 km Trans-Kalimantan Highway South which would eventually encompass the whole of Borneo, connecting nearly every coastal town in Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Indonesia and Brunei.