BINTULU: Residents of Bintulu, especially those in Jepak, will soon benefit from a wider road network with the development of a dual carriageway from the Bintulu-Jepak Bridge to Bintulu Airport.

Sarawak Premier, Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri (Dr) Abang Abdul Rahman Zohari Tun Datuk Abang Openg, announced that the project has been approved during a recent Sarawak Cabinet meeting.

He mentioned that the project will lead to more planned development in the Jepak constituency area.

“We will connect the road from the Bintulu-Jepak Bridge to Bintulu Airport. It will be a dual carriageway, meaning four lanes,” he said.

“Jepak will no longer be just a village area. There are also plans for a housing development in several phases.

"This means we are creating well-structured development in Jepak,” he stated during his speech at the Majlis Tautan Kasih Gedong Permulaan Kami (GPK) Bintulu 2024 at a hotel on Saturday.

Touching on infrastructure development, Datuk Patinggi Abang Zohari highlighted that Sarawak is the only state that is building several mega bridges at the same time.

He explained that this was made possible by Sarawak’s growing economy, which has allowed the state to overcome scepticism about its development efforts.

“No other state can build 16 bridges simultaneously. These bridge projects include locations like Batang Lupar, Batang Saribas, Batang Krian, Igan, Paloh, and Muara Lassa.

“We are doing all of this at the same time. Some questioned where the funding would come from after federal support was withdrawn.

"This is the result of our growing economy and God’s blessing, allowing us to receive substantial revenue,” he added.

Also present were Sarawak’s Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan, Speaker of the Sarawak Legislative Assembly Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohamad Asfia Awang Nasar, Deputy Minister of Utility and Telecommunications Sarawak Datuk Dr Abdul Rahman Junaidi, Batang Sadong Member of Parliament Rodiyah Sapiee, Jepak Assemblyman Iskandar Turkee, Tanjong Batu Assemblyman Johnny Pang Leong Ming, GPK Kuching Patron Dato Sri Mohd Naroden Majais, GPK Bintulu Chairman Pengiran Dato (Dr) Ts. Daud Pengiran Putera, Bintulu Division Resident Datu Nyurak Keti, Deputy Chairman of Bintulu Development Authority Dato Haidar Khan Asghar Khan, and other distinguished guests. -UKASnews