The mechanism and direction of the Pan Borneo Highway mega project in Sabah and Sarawak are expected to be finalised and a decision made at the latest by early September said Works Minister Baru Bian.

He said his ministry would appoint an independent consulting engineer to review the implementation of the project involving the work packages carried out by the project contractor based on best engineering practices.

"Last July 24, the ministry was directed by the Finance Ministry to review and reassess the cost and scope of the Sabah and Sarawak Pan Borneo highway project. The ministry has submitted a proposal to appoint an independent consultant to conduct the assessment" he told the Dewan Rakyat sitting on Thursday, 2 August.

He was replying to a question from Chan Foong Hin (DAP-Kota Kinabalu) who queried on the total cost involved in hiring the Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd as the project delivery partner (PDP) in Sabah.

Baru said the estimated total project cost in Sabah was RM12.86 billion which was divided into 35 work packages.

Elaborating further, Baru said the rate of the fees to be paid by the government to the PDP was ​​​5.5 per cent of the overall construction cost.

"The Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah is through the PDP Agreement that was signed on April 11, 2016 b,etween the federal government, Sabah government and the PDP.

"The agreement has also set a penalty element on the PDP fees if the PDP fails to comply with the Key Performance Indicators (KPI), namely that the project is completed according to the cost, time and quality set" he said.

He said so far 12 out of the 35 work packages of the Sabah Pan Borneo have been implemented while the remaining 23 work packages have yet to commence because it is either at the procurement stage, value management lab or design planning.

Meanwhile replying to a supplementary question from Chan, who questioned the Borneo Highway PDP Sdn Bhd on its chief executive officer, Shahelmy Yahya, who is also Sabah UMNO Youth vice-chief, ​​​​​​​Baru said "he has been appointed and the ministry cannot do anything unless there is a report objecting to it in accordance with the law”.