The Pan Borneo Highway (PBH) project was announced in 2013 by the Malaysian Federal Government, which aims to build a road network connecting the world’s third largest island - Borneo Island including two Malaysian States, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei and the Kalimantan region in Indonesia. The construction works in Sarawak were officially launched in 2015 comprising 11 construction work packages, while the Sabah portion was launched in 2016 with another 35 construction work packages.

The Pan Borneo Highway acts as the backbone of road linkages in Sabah and Sarawak, and is expected to create multiplier effects in terms of tourism, infrastructure development and logistics by creating connectivity in areas previously difficult to access. The 2,325-km highway is anticipated to create 400,000 jobs with cost estimation of RM 29 billion upon its completion in 2023

In the first half of 2018, over one third of the Pan Borneo Sarawak construction work packages were completed. Here, Sime Darby Industrial Sdn Bhd was involved by providing more than 150 units of Cat machines such as Cat hydraulic excavators, bulldozers and compactors, among others. One of the fleet owners is Musyati- Mudajaya JV Sdn Bhd, the main contractor for Work Package No.8 - which was named by PBH Sarawak on 3 October 2018 as the Best Overall Performing Works Package.

Moving forward, PBH Sabah, with work packages worth RM 12.8 billion will be the key project implementor of the Pan Borneo Highway, which will require substantial equipment and machinery. Sime Darby Industrial is set to provide further support for the project.

Website: www.simedarbyindustrial.com