KUCHING: Several major infrastructure projects in Sarawak will be continued and enhanced under the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP).

These include connecting road projects such as the Trans Borneo, Sabah-Sarawak Link Road (SSLR) as well as the construction and upgrading of facilities in the Malaysia-Indonesia and Malaysia-Brunei border areas.

Deputy Prime Minister, Dato Sri Fadillah Yusof said that among the main focuses of the 13MP is the implementation of the Flood Mitigation Plan Project in Kuching city which is expected to cost a total of more than RM2 billion.

According to him, this project includes three main components, namely the construction of canals, bridges and the construction of a new barrage in Sungai Salak to control the inflow of saltwater during high tides.

"The first phase of this project has been approved in the 5th Rolling Plan under the 12th RMK involving two packages. This time it is being expanded to the western part of Kuching with the tender expected to start this year and the project implementation to start next year," he said when met by reporters during the Grand Opening of HE Medical Clinic Kuching Branch & Participation in Men's Health Exhibition here on Saturday.

The Petra Jaya MP added that several other projects were also listed, including works to overcome erosion problems in areas such as Sibu and Miri, the details of which will only be known after the annual budget is announced.

In the context of border development, he explained, attention was also given to the construction of the Immigration, Customs and Quarantine (ICQ) Complex as well as the upgrading of road facilities in border areas, in line with the strategic importance of Malaysia-Indonesia and Malaysia-Brunei relations.

Meanwhile, the issue of the shortage of doctors, especially in rural Sarawak, was also touched upon, with a proposal to encourage the involvement of locals as a long-term approach to meet the needs of medical personnel in the interior.

Most of these infrastructure projects will be implemented jointly by the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) and the Ministry of Works (KKR) throughout the implementation period of the 13th Malaysia Plan.-UKASnews