The government did not deliberately delay the completion of Kanowit-Kapit road construction project, said Rural and Regional Development Deputy Minister Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi.
He said delay was because of changes made to the 9.6 kilometre stretch linking Ngemah in Kanowit and Nanga Temalat in Song.
"Initially the road was planned to go through the Ngungun Resettlement Scheme. But the available road there is so narrow and there is no possibility to widen it as the longhouses in the area were built too close to the road," he said in a press conference after the Soft Opening of Kanowit Bridge by Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri James Masing here today.
If the road construction was carried out as planned, the many vehicles including the heavy ones could endanger the safety of the dwellers of 26 longhouses especially children.
Nanta was rebutting accusations by certain quarters who said the government deliberately delayed the project for political mileage of the Barisan Nasional especially for the coming General Election 14.
He explained, the construction of the Nanga Ngemah- Nanga Temalat road, said to be the 'missing link' of the Kanowit-Kapit road, had now been divided into two phases.
The first phase was the construction of the 9.6 kilometre road Nanga Ngemah-Nanga Temalat and the second phase was the construction of a 4.1 kilometre bypass which included a bridge crossing the Sungai Ngemah.
He said the preliminary work for the construction of the second phase had been carried out and land would be alienated for the purpose.
"At the moment the tender documents have been prepared and negotiation with an identified contractor will be concluded in June," said Nanta who hoped that the tender document for the bypass project could be done in September this year.
He stressed that there was no 'missing link' to the project as an additional fund of RM36 million was approved by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak during his visit to Ngungun Resettlement Scheme on March 27 last year.
The overall cost of the two phases is RM150 million.
Nanta urged the people not to be influenced by the baseless accusations and not to get angry with the government.
On the RM52 million Kanowit Bridge, Nanta said the completion would uplift and spur the economic activities of the people in Majau, Poi and Ngungun.
The contractor is now doing the final touches to the bridge which is to be opened for public usage on May 27, a few days ahead of the Gawai celebration.
-- BERNAMA
Bernama
Sun May 21 2017
Nanta (pix) says the preliminary work for the construction of the second phase had been carried out and land would be alienated for the purpose. - Filepic
AWANI Tonight: Microsoft to invest RM10.5 bil in cloud, AI services
Microsoft has pledged RM10.5 billion investment in artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud computing to help develop Malaysia’s AI infrastructure.
AWANI Tonight: UCLA pro-Palestine students in standoff with police
Hundreds of police officers made their way to the UCLA campus, warning pro-Palestinian demonstrators that they would be arrested for unlawful assembly if they did not leave.
AWANI Tonight: Building smart homes, innovating customer experiences
Around 500 to 700 million LG products are in use worldwide, many of which contain AI sensors to learn and analyse users' lifestyles. Astro AWANI correspondent Faye Kwan reports on how the firm makes use of its access to this wealth of data.
Hentikan boikot KK Mart - Mufti Perak
Mufti Perak, Datuk Seri Wan Zahidi Wan Teh menasihatkan umat Islam agar menghentikan tindakan boikot terhadap kedai serbaneka KK Mart susulan isu penjualan stoking tertera kalimah Allah di salah satu cawangan kedai serbaneka itu.
[INFOGRAFIK] Indeks Kebebasan Media Dunia 2024
[INFOGRAFIK] Indeks Kebebasan Media Dunia 2024
Petugas haji termasuk 14 wakil media selamat tiba di Madinah
Seramai 150 petugas haji termasuk 14 wakil media bagi musim haji 1445 Hijrah/2024M selamat tiba di Madinah sekitar pukul 2.45 pagi waktu tempatan (7.45 pagi waktu Malaysia).
12 individu ditahan terlibat penipuan pelaburan Goldman Sachs, kerugian lebih RM11 juta
Dua belas individu ditahan kerana disyaki terlibat penipuan pelaburan Goldman Sachs di tujuh negeri melibatkan kerugian melebihi RM11 juta.
AWANI Ringkas: Tindakan boikot tersasar jauh - Mufti Perak
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
TnG eWallet dikemas kini dengan kalkulator tukaran mata wang untuk kad prabayar Visa
APLIKASI Touch n Go eWallet hari ini telah dikemas kini dengan ciri kalkulator penukaran mata wang.
Gaji penjawat awam negeri Selangor akan dinaikkan selaras pengumuman PM - Amirudin
Gaji penjawat awam negeri Selangor akan dinaikkan selaras pengumuman kenaikan gaji oleh Perdana Menteri Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim pada 1 Mei lepas.
KKR, CIDB zahir hasrat hantar pekerja ke Nagasaki teroka kemahiran TVET
KKR menerusi agensinya Lembaga Pembangunan Industri Pembinaan Malaysia (CIDB) berhasrat memulakan penghantaran pekerja ke Nagasaki, Jepun menjelang suku keempat tahun ini.
Malaysia, Jepun perkukuh kerjasama strategik dalam sektor binaan - Nanta
Kerajaan Malaysia dan Jepun memperkukuhkan kerjasama strategik dalam sektor teknologi dan digitalisasi pembinaan, infrastruktur jalan, pengurusan bencana dan cerun.
AFPPD pilih Malaysia jadi tuan rumah pejabat sekretariat
Forum Ahli Parlimen Negara Asia Mengenai Populasi dan Pembangunan (AFPPD) memilih Malaysia sebagai pilihan utama untuk menempatkan pejabat sekretariatnya.
Surat batal PJD Link Expressway diserahkan dalam masa terdekat - Nanta
Satu surat rasmi akan diberikan dalam masa terdekat kepada pemaju berhubung pembatalan projek pembinaan Lebuhraya Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link Expressway).
KKR beri jaminan projek kolam selam tempur siap Jun ini
Kementerian Kerja Raya (KKR) akan memastikan projek pembinaan kolam selam tempur di Kem Iskandar, Mersing, Johor yang mengalami kelewatan, siap sepenuhnya pada Jun ini.
Jajaran 'redline' Sarawak dinaik taraf - Alexander
Jajaran 'redline' yang melibatkan jalan persekutuan dan jalan negeri di Sarawak akan direka bentuk semula dan dinaik taraf agar mengikut standard Projek Lebuh Raya Pan Borneo.
Lorong Smart Lane diaktifkan tangani kesesakan jalan raya musim perayaan
Sebagai persediaan menghadapi pertambahan jumlah kenderaan di lebuh raya, lorong Smart Lane diaktifkan pada musim perayaan ini.
Aidilfitri: Kerja selenggara libat penutupan lorong dihentikan sementara - Alexander
Semua kerja-kerja penyelenggaraan di lebuh raya melibatkan penutupan lorong akan dihentikan sementara sehingga 17 April ini, sempena sambutan Hari Raya Aidilfitri.
Tol percuma sempena Aidilfitri 8, 9 April - Alexander
Pengguna lebuh raya membabitkan kenderaan persendirian (Kelas 1) diberi kemudahan tol percuma selama dua hari iaitu 8 dan 9 April bersempena dengan sambutan Aidilfitri tahun ini.
KKR, LLM laksana persediaan tangani kesesakan trafik di lebuh raya menjelang Aidilfitri
Alexander Nanta Linggi berkata kerajaan amat prihatin berhubung kesesakan lalu lintas yang berlaku menjelang musim perayaan ini khususnya di Lebuhraya Utara Selatan (PLUS).