KUCHING: Roads in a state of disrepair in Northern Sarawak are expected to be upgraded by Christmas this year.
According to Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, there is a need for upgrading works as some of the roads used by logging operators have been damaged.
“Therefore, we will prioritise the upgrade of the roads that are no longer used by heavy logging vehicles because it will act as the main road to go to the rural areas while the roads that are actively used by the logging transport will be given second priority.
“The important thing is that the implementation must be done before Christmas this year because it is not just a matter of celebration but also taking into account the monsoon season that will be faced by Sarawak after that time,” he said.
He said this during a press conference after chairing a coordination meeting between the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) and Sarawak government at Wisma Bapa Malaysia here Tuesday (Mar 7).
Ahmad Zahid, who is also minister of KKDW said his ministry will also adopt several guidelines of the Sarawak government such as the prequalification for the tendering process.
“This benchmark will be adopted by KKDW not only for project implementation in Sarawak but also in other regions and states because it is a good guideline and there is no issue of leaking projects or ‘sick’ projects due to low-qualification performance.
“We (KKDW) believe that any issue related to the ‘sick’ project and so on will be overcome with the benchmarking done by the Sarawak government,” he said.
Under Budget 2023, KKDW was allocated a total of RM13.49 billion for rural development in Sarawak.
