RANAU, Oct 6 — A Bailey bridge will be built in Kampung Lungkidau here to replace the one that collapsed during heavy rain and floods early last year, according to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Sabah, Sarawak Affairs and Special Functions Datuk Armizan Mohd Ali.

He said the unreplaced collapsed bridge had also captured the attention of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al-Mustafa Billah Shah during the recent Kembara Kenali Borneo expedition last month.

Armizan said the decision to build a Bailey bridge was made due to the fact that the installation would not take too long to complete and that it could support up to 15 tonnes of weight compared to the old bridge which could only handle five tonnes.

"I have briefed the Cabinet about the matter and it was agreed that the problem be solved promptly for the convenience of the people using the bridge.

"The Cabinet has asked the Ministry of Works to assess the feasibility of installing the Bailey bridge. We have a stock of these Bailey bridges in Sabah, but unfortunately, their specifications are not suitable. We need to request stock from the peninsular,” he told reporters after inspecting the proposed site for the bridge today.

Armizan said the Bailey bridge should have a length of 105 meters and needs to be completed promptly because it is the sole connecting route for 1,500 residents in four villages on the other side of the river who want to travel to Sandakan or Kota Kinabalu.

"I will follow up with the Works Minister (Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi) and Ranau Member of Parliament Datuk Jonathan Yasin next Monday,” he added.

The minister said the Sabah government had, on September 22, through the Public Works Department (JKR), submitted an application and an assessment letter to the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development (KKDW) to build a new bridge in the village at a cost of RM25.6 million.

"However, there were several constraints, including the relatively long time frame for all the tender procurement processes and an estimated 18-month period for bridge completion. So, we decided to install the Bailey bridge instead,” he said. — Bernama