UEM Edgenta Berhad, a Malaysia-based asset management and infrastructure solutions company serving as the appointed independent checking engineer, has helped steer the development of the Pan Borneo Highway Sarawak. The project marks a significant milestone in strengthening Sarawak’s transport connectivity, providing greater economic opportunities and improving access for communities across the state.
The Pan Borneo Highway is expected to enhance mobility, improve logistics efficiency and support long-term socio-economic growth by connecting towns, rural communities and key economic corridors. Beyond the physical infrastructure, the project represents a long-term investment in the state’s resilience, competitiveness and quality of life.
Spearheaded by the Public Works Department Sarawak (Jabatan Kerja Raya Sarawak) as the project’s principal team lead, this achievement was executed through UEM Edgenta’s critical governance, technical oversight and project management expertise. Drawing on its experience managing more than RM100 billion worth of major infrastructure developments across Malaysia, the company ensured every stage of delivery adhered to stringent standards of quality, safety, regulatory compliance and sustainability.
To navigate the physical realities of Sarawak’s vast landscape, UEM Edgenta’s experience in managing mega projects such as the PLUS Highways, the Penang Bridge, and international infrastructure projects contributed to the highway’s development. Overseeing an initiative of this scale meant implementing advanced structural reviews to address deep and unstable soil conditions, engineering resilient solutions to bridge extensive river networks, and managing highly complex logistical supply chains across vast, remote distances.
By tailoring these engineering solutions to Sarawak’s specific topographical and climate challenges, the technical oversight provided by UEM Edgenta – a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Group Berhad – helped ensure that the physical asset is designed to minimise future maintenance costs, reduce environmental impact and maximise structural resilience for decades to come.
Stretching approximately 786 km from Telok Melano in the south to Merapok in the north, Phase 1 of the Pan Borneo Highway is one of the most ambitious civil engineering undertakings in Southeast Asia. UEM Edgenta’s technical governance guided the successful delivery of 115 bridges and 25 complex interchanges, navigating treacherous topography and vast river networks.
Moreover, managing this mammoth operation required millions of safe working hours, laying immense volumes of specialised asphalt, and coordinating a massive daily workforce, all while maintaining uncompromising safety and operational standards.
Shaiful Subhan, managing director and CEO of UEM Edgenta, said, “Delivering an infrastructure project on the scale of the Pan Borneo Highway across Sarawak’s vast and diverse landscape demands exceptional technical expertise, disciplined governance and close collaboration among all stakeholders.
“At UEM Edgenta, we are proud to have supported this vision by providing the engineering oversight, project management and quality assurance needed to deliver infrastructure of this complexity. Through proven engineering practices and rigorous project governance, we have helped ensure this highway will serve the people of Sarawak safely, reliably and sustainably for generations to come.”
“The Pan Borneo Highway is more than a road; it is a catalyst for unity, progress and opportunity across Sarawak. For our team in Sarawak, delivering this long-awaited vision has been deeply meaningful because it is, ultimately, about improving the lives of the communities we serve,” added Raihana Ahmad, managing director of infrastructure solutions at UEM Edgenta.
“We are proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with the Sarawak state government, our partners and local contractors to help bring this vision to life, while strengthening local capabilities that will support the state’s future infrastructure ambitions.”
Image: UEM Edgenta
