PM stands firm on cancelling gas pipeline project in Sabah
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is standing firm on cancelling the China-backed Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) in Sabah, which is valued at RM4.06 billion.
"We have determined that the pipeline (projects) will not be constructed...
Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad is standing firm on cancelling the China-backed Trans-Sabah Gas Pipeline (TSGP) in Sabah, which is valued at RM4.06 billion.
"We have determined that the pipeline (projects) will not be constructed.
"We are, as usual, not seeking the previous arrangement (to build the pipeline), and at the moment we are not going to do it," he told a press conference at Putrajaya today.
Last August, Mahathir announced that two gas pipeline projects – TSGP and Multi-Product Pipeline (MPP) in Malacca – were cancelled, together with the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL).
Putrajaya, however, later embarked on a 10-month long negotiation with Beijing on the ECRL, and signed a supplementary agreement to resume the project at the reduced cost of RM44 billion.
It is understood no similar effort was made for the TSGP.
The project was being undertaken by Suria Strategic Energy Resources (SSER) – a fully-owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry set up in 2016 for the sole purpose of overseeing the implementation of the TSGP and MPP.
The previous administration approved the construction of both gas pipelines, and awarded the projects to the China Petroleum Pipeline Bureau (CPPB) in November 2016.
The 662km TSGP would have stretched from the Kimanis Gas Terminal to Sandakan and Tawau. The 600km MPP, meanwhile, would have connected various petrochemical projects in Malacca and Port Dickson to Jitra.
A total of RM8.3billion – 88 percent of the construction cost – was paid out for the two projects, despite just 13 percent of work being completed.
Earlier this month, SSER was fined by for failing to comply with Bank Negara conditions in relation to the pipeline projects.
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