Fadillah Dares UCTS To Come Up With Peat Soil Mitigation

SIBU: Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof yesterday suggested that University College of Technology Sarawak (UCTS) carry out a pilot project to improve the stretch of road from Sibu Airport to town.

He said this is because that stretch of road had been posing a huge challenge to them in terms of improving its condition, for which much money had been spent and until now they had not found a solution to it.

In their effort to improve that stretch of federal road, he said Public Works Department (JKR) had spent about RM20 million over the past two years to keep it in good condition and make it safe for commuters.

“So with Peat Technology Research Institute (Petri), we hope they can work together to find solutions towards that.

“If you can do a pilot test in Sibu to get new methods or new technology to solve whatever problems that we are facing with Sibu Airport Road, that will be an achievement.

“I believe you will be able to produce solutions for us to make good whatever we have in Sibu, in particular,” Fadillah told a press conference after the launching of Petri at UCTS here yesterday.

It is the fervent hope of the Petra Jaya MP that UCTS through Petri will come up with a solution.

Fadillah praised UCTS for initiating the setting up a research institute on peat soil, which had been a major challenge to infrastructure development in Sarawak and certain parts of the Peninsula such as Johor and Selangor.

With the institute, he believed closer cooperation would be established between the ministry, government agencies, research institutes and universities to work out solutions to challenges faced when developing peat soil.

He cited Sarawak as an example, where roads, drainage and other infrastructure projects had to go through peat soil in order to develop SCORE.

The same problem would also be encountered when upgrading and constructing the Pan Borneo Highway though it would be under private-public initiative, he added.

“Definitely, they will need experts in soft soil development. Otherwise, the cost in upgrading and constructing Pan Borneo Highway will be huge.

“So I believe they have to work with all the research institutes, experts and so on so to find a better solution.”

Present at the press conference were Minister of Local Government and Community Development and Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, who is also UCTS management board chairman, vice-chancellor of UCTS Prof Datuk Dr Abdul Hakim Juri, deputy vice-chancellor (academic) Professor Datuk Dr Sabarudin Mohd and director of Research Centre for Soft Soils Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia Prof Datuk Dr Ismail Bakar. - BP