BETONG: Sarawak Deputy Premier Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas has stressed the importance of cost efficiency and careful planning in the implementation of the proposed construction of 17 rural housing units in Bukit Saban and Lingga.

The Second Minister for Finance and New Economy, Sarawak Minister for Infrastructure and Port Development and Bukit Saban Assemblyman, said the technical team needed to review the specifications of the materials to be used to ensure construction costs could be controlled without compromising the basic housing requirements.

He said this while chairing a meeting on the implementation of the proposed construction of 11 new rural housing units in Bukit Saban and six rural housing units in Lingga at the Kenyalang Meeting Room, Betong Resident’s Office, on Saturday.

During the meeting, details of the projects, which are funded under the Betong Division Development Agency (BDDA), were presented by Betong Public Works Department (JKR) Divisional Engineer.

Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah also called on the technical team to review the designs of the housing units that involved high costs and examine the possibility of adopting more cost-effective designs that were suitable for the project allocation.

He said the review was important to determine whether the current designs were contributing to increased costs and to ensure each housing unit could be implemented within the allocated budget.

He also instructed the relevant parties to resolve any issues concerning the status and land sites for each housing unit at an early stage to avoid delays in project implementation.

Also present were Betong Resident Datu Richard Michael Abunawas, Betong Division Development Agency (BDDA) Officer Abg Mohamed Abg Turkey, Betong Public Works Department (JKR) Divisional Engineer Jason Ng Boon Tuan, Betong Divisional Agriculture Officer Leo Toni, Political Secretary to the Premier of Sarawak Roseline Mapong and Spaoh Sub-District Administrative Officer Denny Lim. -UKASnews

Translator: Uilson Ng