KOTA KINABALU, Feb 4 — The Sabah government has approved a total of RM4.7 million to complete the skybridge project here which has been suspended since 2018 after the project developer became insolvent.
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor said construction work on the project would be resumed in the near future and is expected to be completed by the middle of the year.
“We do not want this skybridge project to be abandoned forever. It needs to be completed quickly to provide convenience and safety to the public,” he told reporters after visiting the project site here today.
Hajiji said the RM31.5 million project was funded by the Public Private Partnership Unit, under the Prime Minister’s Department through the facilitation fund agreement between the federal government, Bank Pembangunan Malaysia Berhad and Sunsea Development Sdn Bhd on February 9, 2017.
“Through the agreement, the federal government has the right to terminate the facilitation fund if the project developer is found to be insolvent.
“Construction of pedestrian bridge and work to upgrade the surrounding infrastructure began on April 1, 2017 and was scheduled to be completed within six months (September 30, 2017) but was then extended to April 30, 2018,” he said.
Hajiji added that the contractor in charge at that time was Petrofiq Sdn Bhd who had stopped working even though 90 per cent of the project had been completed on the grounds that it did not receive payment. — Bernama