MIRI, Jan 12 — Ten service counters will be opened at the Sungai Tujuh Immigration, Customs, Quarantine and Security (ICQS) Complex here, in connection with the Chinese New Year season at the end of this month.
Minister of Transport Sarawak Datuk Seri Lee Kim Shin announced this following a meeting at the ICQS Complex yesterday.
He stated that the arrangement had been approved by the Immigration Sarawak director, who would assign officers from other locations to temporarily serve at the border control post.
Speaking at the press conference called after the meeting, Lee highlighted a significant increase in border crossing activities at Sungai Tujoh, based on 2023 and 2024 statistics.
“In 2023, the total entries recorded were 930,737, while exits were 866,020, amounting to 1,796,757 movements.
“Comparatively in 2024, the entries were about 1,418,567 and exits were 1,106,370, making the total 2,524,937.
“This shows a substantial increase. As we approach the CNY celebration end of this month, beginning January 29 and over the following two weeks, we anticipate a spike in vehicle movements,” he said.
In a related development, Lee said the JKR Miri had briefed on the progress of the upgrading works on the ICQS Complex — a project funded by a special allocation from the Premier of Sarawak.
“I was informed that the project tender was issued on Nov 25 and closed on Dec 18 last year.
“It is currently under evaluation, and I’ve discussed with the new Miri Resident, Galong Luang, who is also the tender committee chairman, that the tender meeting will be held on January 21.
“Once the tender is finalised and awarded to a qualified contractor, I believe upgrade works could kick off after the Chinese New Year celebration.
“We also discussed minimising disruptions from construction activities to ensure traffic flow at the control post would not be significantly affected,” Lee added. — The Borneo Post
