Deputy chief minister Bung Moktar Radin said Ismail is scheduled to arrive in Sandakan tomorrow evening before leaving for Kinabatangan on Saturday.

It will be Ismail’s maiden visit to Sandakan and Kinabatangan.

Bung, who is also the state works minister, said the east coast portion of the project will consist of four work packages involving stretches from Kinabatangan to Telupid.

Work on the packages will begin simultaneously and is expected to be completed by 2024.

“These are among the new packages of the Pan Borneo Highway project which will be implemented soon,” he said in a statement today.

“Another new package is the stretch between Serusop in Tuaran to Pituru in Kota Belud, located on the west coast, which will begin next year using funds under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“With the five new packages underway later, this means there will be 16 out of the overall 35 work packages under Phase 1 of the Pan Borneo project,” he said.

Bung said most of the 11 packages currently underway involved roads in the west coast, from Sindumin near the Sarawak border up to Kudat in north Sabah.

He said the packages were 54% complete and were expected to be ready in 2023.

“We hope work on the remaining 19 packages can begin at the same time so that they can be completed as soon as possible,” he said.