KUCHING, Dec 1: A total of 1,200km of new roads is needed to connect the remaining 381 settlements, in order to achieve 100 percent connectivity throughout Sarawak.
“This will pave way for new growth opportunities and improves the socio-economic well-being of the people through better healthcare, education, agriculture and various economic activities,” said Deputy Premier, Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas in his ministerial winding-up speech in DUN sittting today.
As such, he added that his ministry, in collaboration with JKR Sarawak will look into new approaches to reduce the construction cost.
“My Ministry together with JKR Sarawak will continue to improve the provision of basic infrastructure for the rural population.
“No one shall be marginalised and everyone deserves to enjoy Sarawak’s economic prosperity, sustainable environment and social inclusivity,” he added.
Among them are utilising Front-End Engineering (FEE) Funding such as survey works, soil investigation and design in addition to leveraging on low volume rural road design.
Uggah added that locally available materials will also be utilised such as river gravel, river sand and sandstones.
For the record, a total of 5,833 (94%) out of 6,214 registered settlements in rural areas are connected by road. – TVS
