Deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin said without sukuk or bonds, the financing for the project now had to depend on development allocations from the federal government.
“Sarawak cancelled the PDP but it has already secured sukuk or bonds for the project.
“In Sabah, the PDP was cancelled but sukuk or bonds have not been managed.
“When there are only development allocations left, the Pan Borneo Highway cannot be fully completed.
“There is about RM1 billion a year (of development allocation) to develop this project.
“I think if this is the way, even after 45 years, the project would not have been completed for the people to benefit from it ,” he said when contacted by reporters today.
He was commenting on allegations by three MPs from DAP, namely Chan Foong Hin (Kota Kinabalu), Noorita Sual (Tenom) and Vivian Wong Shir Yee (Sandakan), that Bung had misled the Dewan Rakyat by saying that the Pakatan Harapan government had cut the budget for the project, while debating the motion of thanks for the royal address on Sept 21.
Commenting further, Bung said he was ready to explain more about the project in the Dewan Rakyat to ensure that all parties understand what had happened and that the project runs smoothly.
“I am not misleading the Dewan Rakyat, they are the ones who lied.
“Don’t worry, I will answer them in Parliament.
“What is important now is our responsibility to develop this project smoothly and quickly for our people in Sabah,” he said.
During the state legislative assembly sitting on Thursday, Bung reportedly said that the 1,236km-long Pan Borneo Highway in Sabah involved three phases of construction with a cost of RM40.2 million.
Bung, who is also the Sabah public works minister, said the design stage of Phase One of the project, with 35 packages, involving the construction of 706 km of the highway at a cost of RM15.2 billion, had been completed.
Of the total, 15 packages were currently in the construction stage, involving 317.6km at a cost of RM7.98 billion, and were borne by the federal government.