PENGERANG: The government has agreed in principle to an upgrade of the Senai-Desaru Expressway and will call for a tender for the project next year.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof said the project will involve upgrading the highway's single lane to dual lanes.
"The project will involve a 26-kilometre stretch of the highway," he said.
Fadillah said the cost of the project has not been finalised, as it will depend on the design of the upgraded highway.
"We have to finalise the design first before we know the cost of the project," he said after launching the new road from FT092 to PULAREK here.
Also present at the event was Johor Public Works and Rural and Regional Development Executive Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad, who was representing Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
The 77-km long Senai-Desaru Expressway was opened in June 2011 and features a four-lane dual carriageway in the Senai to Cahaya Baru section, and a two-lane single carriageway in the Cahaya Baru to Penawar section.
"Once completed, the highway will improve connectivity to the Desaru and Pengerang areas, and will have a positive impact on the socio-economic activities of the local population," said Fadillah.
On the newly-launched FT092-PULAREK road, Fadillah said the project, which began in March 2014, was delayed for almost a year because of a snag in the land acquisition process and changes to the design.
"The delay was also caused by the contractor, which is why we imposed a fine of RM12 million on them," he added.
The new road is part of a project to upgrade and build new links to Bandar Penawar, Sungai Rengit and the Royal Malaysian Navy's Pusat Latihan Rekrut (PULAREK).
The project includes the construction of four new roads within the Pengerang Integrated Petroleum Complex (PIPC) project. The total cost of the project is RM1.86 billion.
"We hope the whole project will be completed by Feb 2019," said Fadillah.
The new road replaces a highway which was closed for the operation of the Pengerang Deepwater Terminal.
It cuts travel time between Tanjung Pengelih and Sungai Rengit from 60 minutes to 20 minutes.