Ubaidillah Masli
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN
WORK will soon begin on the construction of a major dual-carriage highway that is anticipated to “greatly ease” traffic flows between the capital and the Belait District, the Brunei Economic Development Board (BEDB) announced yesterday.
“This highway will greatly benefit the people of Brunei Darussalam, especially commuters between Bandar Seri Begawan and the Belait District besides boosting Brunei’s economic competitiveness by making it much easier to travel to the Sungai Liang Industrial Park (Spark) and the BSP’s (Brunei Shell Petroleum Co Sdn Bhd) operations in Seria,” Dr Manaf Metussin, BEDB’s Acting CEO, said in the statement.
A consortium comprising Bruneian firm Suriati Construction and a Chinese state-owned construction company Xing-An-Ji Engineering have been appointed by the statutory board to carry out the project, which is expected to take three years to complete. The scope of work includes site clearance of about seven million cubic metres, construction of permanent surface and sub-surface drainage systems, traffic signs, road markings, guard-rails, landscaping, and traffic lights.
No dates have been released on the project’s timeline, but BEDB saidwork is expected to “commence shortly”.
The Brunei-China consortium was awarded the contract after an international open tender by BEDB. Of the 23 companies that expressed interest, nine local and international contractors submitted tenders. The decision to award to the consortium followed an evaluation by BEDB, supported by the Roads Department of the Ministry of Development and was based on the competitiveness of the tender submitted and capabilities of the consortium.
The Chinese construction company has taken major infrastructure projects in China, Thailand, Columbia, Macau and Singapore, while Suriati Construction Sdn Bhd has been involved in various projects, including widening of the road from the Jalan Jerudong junction to Jalan Gadong and infrastructure works for Kg Meragang Housing Scheme.
The single lane, dual-carriage way from Telisai to Lumut is known for traffic congestion at the Muara-Kuala Belait highway.
The Brunei Times
Latest by The Brunei Times:
- BDFone to unveil 3 phone models
- Winner plans to market software to local artistes
- 18 youths detained in ‘Operasi Lepak'
- India's Independence Day flag hoisting on August 15
- TAP counters operating hours in Ramadhan
