Cabinet to decide on Pan Borneo Highway PDP model

The cabinet has yet to decide on whether to replace the project delivery partner (PDP) model for the Pan Borneo Highway project with a turnkey contractor, Works Minister Baru Bian said today.

"There was such a proposal received by the government but there is no decision by the government yet," he told Malaysiakini.

However, he said, the government's decision will not impact the PDP's contractors.

"If they are doing their job, of course, they will be kept," he said.

Yesterday, The Edge Daily quoted a source as saying the government decided to ditch the PDP model in favour of a turnkey contractor model.

Also yesterday, Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal confirmed that an agreement had been reached in a discussion between the state government, Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng and Baru, that the PDP model would not be used, so as to ensure a more efficient and accountable management of the highway construction cost.

However, the special officer to the works minister, Tian Chua, was quoted as saying that the two PDPs - Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd and Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd - have not been removed.

In July 2018, Baru said the government was looking into ways of reducing the cost of Pan Borneo Highway, which will span 1,060km, linking Sarawak and Sabah. The toll-free highway is estimated to cost more than RM29 billion (RM16.49 billion for the highway in Sarawak and RM12.86 billion for the route in Sabah).

The Edge reported that the decision was in line with the government’s intention to stop awarding infrastructure projects through the PDP model, under which contractors are not incentivised to be cost-efficient.

Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd (BHP) and Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn Bhd (LBU) are the PDPs for the Sabah and Sarawak portions of the highway, respectively.

BHP is linked to Sabah Umno and former chief minister Musa Aman while LBU is linked to Bustari Yusof, the brother of former works minister Fadillah Yusof. - Mkini