KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 16 — A total of RM157.8 million has been allocated to repair damaged roads in Sabah this year, the Dewan Rakyat was told today.

Works Minister Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi said a number of badly damaged federal roads in Sabah have been repaired this year as a result of the increased allocation compared to last year.

"In 2022, the cost of maintaining federal roads (in Sabah) was RM114.19 million.

"However, the allocation (set aside this year) is not enough to cover the cost of repairing damaged federal roads throughout Sabah,” he said during the question and answer session.

He said this in reply to a question from Datuk Shahelmey Yahya (BN-Putatan) on the government’s efforts to address the problem of road and street light maintenance on federal roads in Sabah.

According to Nanta, as a preventive measure, the 1,289.14 kilometres of federal roads in Sabah have undergone routine maintenance on a monthly basis at an estimated cost of RM4 million per month to ensure road users’ comfort and safety.

"The ministry is of the view that some roads need to be rebuilt because they have been in place for more than 20 years, exceeding their life span.

"In an effort to provide comfort for road users in Sabah, the ministry is also working to upgrade main roads in the state through the 210,294 km Pan Borneo Highway Project, which is currently under construction,” he said.

In the meantime, Nanta said a total of RM3.07 million had been allocated for the maintenance and repair of street lights on federal roads in Sabah. — Bernama