The bridge connecting the Tuaran township to Sungai Damit will be demolished after studies found it to be unsafe.

Deputy Economy Minister Dato Hanifah Hajar Taib however informed that a new bridge will be constructed at the same location.

“The finding by the independent checker engineer appointed by the Sabah Economic Development and Investment authority (SEDIA) on 28 February 2022 found that the bridge structure is unsafe for usage and recommended to be closed to the public.

“A task force established in September 2022 then proposed that a new bridge be constructed at the same location once the present bridge has been demolished based on the justification of value for money, structure durability and safety to users,” he said.

Hanifah said this when answering a question by Datuk Seri Panglima Wilfred Madius Tangau (UPKO – Tuaran) on the status of the bridge during the Dewan Rakyat sitting on Tuesday.

Hanifah said that the Economy Ministry is aware and concerned about the importance of the bridge to all the people in Tuaran town and its surrounding villages.

He said the ministry is committed to speeding up the process needed to ensure the facilities are prepared.

“On this matter, any decision taken by the Ministry of Economy on the roadmap for the bridge project will consider the needs of the local community,” he said.

For the record, the project to construct the Tuaran township and Sungai Damit bridge was approved by the Federal Government on 24 March 2017 under the Second Rolling Plan of the 11th Malaysia Plan with an allocation of RM18 million.

This project was implemented by the Sabah Works Department and monitored by SEDIA which was then under the Prime Minister’s Department (now under the Economy Ministry).

The bridge’s construction started on 20 April 2018 and was supposed to have been completed on 19 October 2019.

Source:
courtesy of THE BORNEO POST

by The Borneo Post

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