| Azlan Othman |
THE bridge linking Bandar Seri Begawan to Temburong – expected to be completed by the end of 2019 – is facing delay, however, contractors have added on more machineries and employees to expedite the process.
Minister of Development YB Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Bahrin bin Abdullah yesterday said this at the Legislative Council (LegCo) meeting in response to a query by YB Pehin Orang Kaya Putera Maharaja Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghani bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahim on the Temburong Bridge project.
The factors behind the delay include mobilisation and the provision of casting yard, storage of heavy machineries, sites to place employees and a construction office, which have taken quite some time. Site provision alone has taken eight months, he said.
At present, the mega project is 17 per cent completed.
The minister listed the other issues which include difficulty accessing the area, especially the mangrove section in Temburong. The initial stage proved to be an obstacle for heavy machineries attempting to enter by means of land and sea.
YB Pehin Orang Kaya Putera Maharaja Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghani bin Pehin Datu Pekerma Dewa Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Rahim. – AZROL AZMI
There was also the problem of the water access being too low to cross, for which 13 kilometres of the river needed to be dug out and deepened for goods barge and piling to be transported. A total area of 100 metres (and 25 metres deep) of soil had to be dug out and removed.
The geology strata of soil underwater in the area also affected piling works. The average piling work is 600-900 metres deep, where 900mm concrete pipes are used for piling.
Also delaying the process were uncertain weather conditions as well as the unavailability of construction materials and special machineries, which then had to be imported from China, South Korea and Malaysia via sea.
Technical issues have also sprung up but with the expertise and experience available, we will monitor the project, the minister added.
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