Kota Kinabalu: The State Works and Utilities Ministry has clarified that an audit report citing an 11.4 per cent completion rate for the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway Phase 1 does not reflect actual physical progress on the ground, as it merely calculated the four completed packages out of the total 35.
Deputy Chief Minister I cum Works and Utilities Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam (pic) said actual physical progress for Phase 1A has reached 89.54 per cent against a scheduled 96.23 per cent as of 25 September 2026, with four packages fully completed, including Kampung Lot M–Sandakan Mile 32, Papar–Donggongon, Lahad Datu Bypass, and Tawau–Semporna.
He noted that work progress on the remaining packages remains on track, with Work Package 09 (WP09) recording 40.83 per cent physical progress ahead of its 38.87 per cent schedule, while Phase 1B reached 25.55 per cent against a scheduled 24.77 per cent.
Phase 1 covers 35 work packages spanning 706 kilometres with an overall cost of RM24.859 billion, of which RM11.792 billion (47.37 per cent) had been expended as of 30 September 2026 for contractor and consultant fees, land compensation, utility relocations, and Project Delivery Partner (PDP) disbursements.
Joachim explained that delays were primarily caused by the transition from the PDP model to conventional contracting in September 2019, Covid-19 supply chain and labour disruptions, land acquisition and utility relocations, and the constraints of widening active roads without disrupting traffic.
He added that site clearance for Phase 1A has now reached 99.85 per cent, with intensified monitoring and recovery plans being implemented to expedite the remaining work packages across the state.
The Ministry and the State Public Works Department (PWD) have accepted the audit's findings to enhance governance and confirmed they are prepared to extend full cooperation to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) in its impending probe into the project.
