Two public-listed companies, Central Global Bhd and Ireka Corporation Bhd, are expected to complete their respective construction contracts awarded under Pan Borneo Highway Project Sabah Phase 1B around 2028, according to local media sources1.
In early October 2024, letters of acceptance were sent to 13 contractors that collectively won nearly RM14 billion worth of works to be completed between 36 and 48 months, including two public-listed construction firms Central Global and Ireka Corporation.
Central Global commenced work on Sept 30, 2024 and is required to complete the construction work towards March 29, 2028.
Ireka Corp, on the other hand, has won RM1.1 billion worth of road upgrade contracts that started on Sept 30, 2024 and will last for 48 months.
As reported, the Pan Borneo Sabah Phase 1 project has been partitioned into Phase 1A and Phase 1B, offering work contracts with an estimated total cost of RM24.8 billion fully borne by the federal government.
Phase 1B has been further divided into four parts comprising building contracts from Kota Belud to Kudat, Tawau to Lahad Datu, Lahad Datu to Sandakan and Telupid to Ranau.
Earlier, the Pan Borneo Phase 1B contracts attracted more than 300 bids in the pre-qualifying round in a stiff competition that included the bidding tenders from Gamuda Bhd, WCT Holdings Bhd dan Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd.
Earlier, in the tabling of Budget 2025, the federal government announced that the collective spending (to date) for the Pan Borneo Sarawak and Pan Borneo Sabah projects amounted to RM25.1 billion.
In total, Phase 1A consists of 336 km of road construction launched in April 2016 involving RM10.8 billion.
So far, the government has spent RM1.1 billion to compensate for land and structure acquired to facilitate the construction of Pan Borneo Sabah.
It was reported that Phase 1A had achieved just 78% of the development target due to difficulties that arose during the construction stage, including coordination among contractors, government agencies and negotiators, in addition to land owners not cooperating and long process of relocating utilities infrastructure along the roadways.
Phase 1A is expected to complete towards the second quarter of 2026 following an extended schedule.
