Approval of Kalabakan-Serudong Road under consideration

25 July 2022

By Wartawan Nabalu News

KUALA LUMPUR: The Federal Works Ministry has acknowledged the need for the proposed Kalabakan-Serudong Road (Sabah) that will connect to the road leading to Simanggaris in Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Works Minister Dato' Sri Fadillah Yusof said this proposed project, which is a high priority one for Sabah, was tabled in the Meeting on Malaysia and Indonesia Border Development Project Planning Coordination (Sabah-Sarawak-Kalimantan) that was chaired by the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Economy) on June 7 this year, during the Question and Answer Session in the Dewan Rakyat at the Second Meeting of the Fifth Term of the 14th Parliament here, recently.

Fadillah was replying to Tawau MP Datuk Christina Liew who wanted to know when the proposed Kalabakan-Serudong Road (Sabah) that will connect to the road leading to Simanggaris in Kalimantan, Indonesia, will be built to uplift the Malaysian border economy in view of the Indonesian capital's relocation to Kalimantan.

"In tandem with the Meeting, the Ministry had raised the proposal for preliminary and design works for the road construction project from Kalabakan (Sabah) to the Malaysia-Indonesia Border (Simanggaris), for inclusion in the Rolling Plan 3 of the 12th Malaysia Plan (RMKe-12) for consideration of the Central Agency.

"Approval for this proposed project is subject to the consideration of the Central Agency based on priority and the Government's financial position," he explained.

Fadillah said prior to implementation of this project, the preliminary and design works need to be carried out first to identify the best road route based on the optimum scope and cost which will benefit the Government and the People, besides ensuring that its social and environmental impact can be minimised.

According to the Works Minister, this proposed project is also included in the range of the Asian Highway Network (with Route Number AH150), saying this is the main route connecting ASEAN countries in the Borneo Archipelago (that is, Malaysia (Sabah and Sarawak), Brunei and Indonesia (Kalimantan).

Fadillah added that apart from creating a road communication network that is safe and comfortable for users, this project, when completed, has the potential to bring about a development spillover effect for Sabah through boosting economic and trade activities along the road, including the opening of development areas in the new settlement.