Miri gets RM465mil gift from Federal Govt

MIRI: People in Miri, the oil capital of Sarawak, got a RM465mil Merdeka Day "gift" Friday.
This gift came in the form of Federal Government funds for a RM400mil new four-lane highway that would connect the Sarawak-Brunei checkpoint to the Miri Airport and a just-completed RM65mil flyover highway project; both of which are vital infrastructure projects that would transform the land transportation layout of this resort city.

Chief Minister Tan Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud announced the good news Friday to the 300,000 people in this northern hub of Sarawak which hosted the state-level Merdeka celebrations.

"The highway costing RM400mil will be constructed from Kuala Baram (the checkpoint) to the airport. This project has been approved already.

"Both these projects are vital for the transformation of Miri. Miri is fast expanding, from the shores across the Canada Hill to the inland.

"As this city progresses and expands, we need to widen our roads and create new links and to open up new suburbs in order to meet the needs of the fast-expanding population," he said at a ceremony to mark the completion of the flyover.

Taib, who is also State First Finance Minister and State Minister for Planning and Resources Management, said the flyover would play a vital role in reducing the massive traffic congestion faced by some 50,000 people living in the Tudan resettlement area and the various residential estates in the Kuala Baram vicinity.

The Star