MALAYSIA BRUNEI to BUILD TRANS-BORNEO HIGHWAY - WHEN? Can BRUNEI Bankroll the Multi Billion Project? Will it be a White Elephant for the ELEPHANTS

It will link Kuching Brunei and Sabah, N-S and E-W

“The highway will link the East and West as well as North and South and in the future towards Kalimantan”

It is interesting news for the people crossing borders between Sabah-Brunei-Sarawak.to visit the Disney land in Brunei. But will the volume of traffic justify this proposed highway? Will it be toll free? Perhaps Brunei with its wealth can bankroll the whole project as a gesture of goodwill between the two countries.

Everything is in the nod stage and it will have to carry out Environment Impact studies if the highway is cutting into juggle areas. Eventually it might be a “white elephant” and the real ones can use it to migrate to new pasture areas.

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The report from Bernama

M'sia-Brunei Agree To Build Trans-Borneo Highway ; August 24, 2006 20:49 PM

KEMAMAN, Aug 24 (Bernama) -- Malaysia and Brunei Thursday agreed to build the Trans-Borneo Highway to facilitate travel between the two countries in future.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the proposed highway would link Kuching (Sarawak) to Brunei and Sabah.

The project was seen as crucial as it could contribute towards closer relations between the peoples of the two neighbouring countries, he told reporters after a four-eyed meeting with the Sultan of Brunei, Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah in conjunction with the 10th Annual Consultation, at the Awana Kijal Golf, Beach, and Spa Resort, near here.

Also present were Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Tan Sri Bernard Dompok.

When asked further on the project including construction cost, Abdullah said: "Wait first, it's still too early."


Abdullah said that for the long term, the government also planned to build a highway that would link the Trans-Borneo Highway to Kalimantan Indonesia.

"That is a project which we have to consider later, it's not necessary to implement the project (to Kalimantan) immediately," he said.

On travel between Sabah and Brunei, the Prime Minister said both governments had also agreed to come up with travelling procedures without using the passport.

"This can be worked out and Brunei has agreed (on the matter), discussions had also been initiated and we hope the discussion can come up with what we are hoping for," he said.

He said such facility had already been implemented in Sarawak and would be extended to Sabah.

"The Sultan of Brunei had said that many people from Sabah go to Brunei. This means, such a facility is needed to make it easier for travellers," he said.

On the petroleum issue involving Malaysia and Brunei off the Sabah shores which had cropped up since 2002, Abdullah said the matter was still being discussed at the officers' level between the two countries.

The dispute arose when the national oil corporation, Petronas, discovered oil reserves about 150 metres from the Sabah coast in 2002 which was estimated to contain up to 700 million barrels of reserves.

At the meeting, Abdullah said he and the Sultan of Brunei expressed regret over the developments in Lebanon.

Brunei had also agreed to send a small contingent of about 100 troops together with the Malaysian contingent to Lebanon to participate in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), he said.
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