BAU: Construction of the Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) complex in Serikin has reached about seven per cent, with completion targeted for December next year.
Deputy Minister of Transport II Datuk Henry Harry Jinep said the project had progressed well since the site was handed over in December last year, with earthworks now forming the bulk of ongoing activities.
“The major work now is earthwork, involving a large volume of cutting and filling before construction of the buildings can begin.
“If the good weather continues, we are confident that the contractor can complete the project within the two-year timeframe,” he said during a site visit here today (Aug 9).
The project commenced on Dec 10, 2025 and is scheduled for completion on Dec 9, 2027.
Henry said the building contract was valued at RM43.66 million under a RM50 million federal allocation, with the Sarawak Public Works Department (PWD) appointed as the implementing agency.
He added that supporting infrastructure, including road access, water, electricity and internet connectivity, would be undertaken separately, with the state government responsible for providing the utilities.
Once operational, the ICQS will allow passport holders and vehicles to travel through Serikin as they would at other international entry points.
Currently, movement across the Serikin border is restricted to holders of border passes, with eligible Bau residents permitted to travel only as far as Seluas in Indonesia and their Indonesian counterparts allowed to enter only as far as Bau.
Earlier reports on the project said the facility would formalise wider cross-border travel at the gateway.
Henry said the complex would position Bau as a new transit town while stimulating tourism, trade and other socioeconomic activities through the movement of people and goods between Sarawak and West Kalimantan.
“Indonesia completed its facility some time ago and is waiting for us, so we have to deliver.
“I will continue monitoring the project regularly and hope the contractor completes it within the stipulated period,” he said.
The visit was conducted in conjunction with a border management benchmarking programme involving Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad and members of the Perak State Security Working Committee (JKKN).
Saarani’s visit to Sarawak, scheduled from Aug 8 to 11, includes engagements aimed at examining the state’s approaches to border administration and security management.
