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Daily Express
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Daily Express
100 attend JKR seminar on pavement construction, maintenance technology.
Published on: Saturday, July 26, 2025 Published on: Sat, Jul 26, 2025 Text Size: Ir Wong CT (left), presents a souvenir to Ir Pok SL Kota Kinabalu: Some 100 people, including Sabah Public Works Department (JKR) engineers, consultants, and contractor's technicians, attended a session at the JKR Training Centre for the second installment of the Seminar on Pavement Construction and Maintenance Technology. It was jointly organised by JKR Sabah, IEM Sabah, and the Pavement Knowledge Sharing Community Sabah (PKSC), with support from technology partner Wirtgen Malaysia. The full-day event featured intensive technical discussions on the latest methods in pavement construction and maintenance. The opening speech was delivered by Ir. Wong CT of JKR Sabah, who is the Head of the Technical and Quality Control Division for the Pan Borneo Highway. Keynote presentations were delivered by Ir. Pok SL, Managing Director of Wirtgen Malaysia, who shared real-world insights on topics such as Cold In-Place Pavement Recycling (CIPR), Thin Gap Graded Overlay Asphalt (VTO), best practices in road base construction, and innovative approaches to address asphalt segregation. Shawn Lim, Head of Parts at Wirtgen Malaysia, introduced participants to advanced Telematics Technologies designed for real-time fleet monitoring and efficient road maintenance operations. The seminar concluded with a closing address by Ir. Ts. Tan KJ, JP, representing IEM Sabah Branch. He commended the collaborative efforts between government agencies, industry players, and professional bodies in raising engineering standards in Sabah. 'The seminar exemplifies how collaboration and knowledge sharing can transform our road engineering practices. Through innovation, technology, and continuous learning, we can deliver sustainable and high-quality infrastructure to the people of Sabah,' said Ir. Tan during his speech. Certificates of appreciation were presented to the speakers, and CPD hours were awarded to participants by IEM Sabah. The seminar provided an important platform for engineers to enhance their technical knowledge and foster stronger cooperation between public and private sectors in Malaysia's road infrastructure development. * Follow us on our official WhatsApp channel and Telegram for breaking news alerts and key updates! * Do you have access to the Daily Express e-paper and online exclusive news? Check out subscription plans available. Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express's Telegram channel. Daily Express Malaysia
Borneo Post
17-05-2025
- General
- Borneo Post
Push for wildlife-friendly highways after tragic death of elephant
Discussion with JKR Sabah at the Maliau wildlife underpass. © Cheryl Cheah / WWF-Malaysia KOTA KINABALU (May 17): A sobering reminder of the stakes came from a recent tragedy along the Gerik-Jeli Highway in Perak, where a baby elephant was fatally hit by a trailer while its mother stood by for hours, desperately trying to save her calf. This heartbreaking scene underscores the urgent need for more wildlife crossing structures, innovative early-warning animal detection systems, traffic calming measures, and shifts in motorist behaviour to prevent such tragedies from happening again. Against this backdrop, a landmark workshop on constructing wildlife-friendly infrastructure concluded in the Maliau Basin last week, gathering 46 participants from 15 government agencies, NGOs, and technical partners to ensure Malaysia's road development supports both people and wildlife. The Sabah Wildlife Department hosted the workshop, co-organised with the Center for Large Landscape Conservation, IUCN WCPA/SSC Asian Elephant Transport Working Group, and WWF-Malaysia. The May 6–9 workshop focused on integrating environmental and ecological safeguards into large-scale road projects, specifically Phase 3 of the Pan Borneo Highway. Key agencies that participated included the Ministry of Works Sabah, Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Environment Sabah, Public Works Departments of Sabah and Pahang, Sabah Forestry Department, Department of Wildlife and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia (PERHILITAN), Ministry of Finance Sabah, Sabah Economic Planning Unit, Yayasan Sabah, and the Kalabakan District Office. Participants and organisers of the Constructing Wildlife-Friendly Road Infrastructure workshop. © Vicculter Denius / WWF-Malaysia The workshop had three key objectives: 1) introducing the 'Handbook to Mitigate the Impacts of Roads and Railways on Asian Elephants' as a practical guide to provide specific mitigation measures to address the adverse impacts of linear transport infrastructure, 2) fostering cross-sectoral knowledge exchange on sustainable infrastructure, and 3) co-developing initial recommendations for Phase 3 of the Pan Borneo Highway project in Sabah. Discussions focused on leveraging existing resources and knowledge, such as the handbook, various studies on wildlife movement and behaviour along roads, PERHILITAN's Wildlife Management Plan, and case studies like the Sungai Yu eco-viaduct implemented by the Public Works Department in Lipis, Pahang, to inform better decision-making for linear infrastructure projects. Government representatives highlighted the need for a more inclusive and consultative planning process to ensure that environmental and biodiversity considerations are integrated from the earliest stages of road development. 'With Phase 3 of the Pan Borneo Highway still under planning, we have a critical opportunity to design infrastructure that coexists with our wildlife and forests,' said Mohd Soffian Abu Bakar, Director of the Sabah Wildlife Department. 'We must learn from past mistakes, such as in Phase 1B, where the highway alignment was finalised before biodiversity concerns were fully addressed, resulting in a route that cuts through the Tawai Forest Reserve, a Class I Protection Forest.' WWF-Malaysia echoed the call for sustainable road development that prevents biodiversity loss. 'With early intervention, cost-benefit analysis, and proper planning — including budgeting for environmental safeguards and strong political will — we can build roads that serve communities without sacrificing Sabah's unique forests, elephants, orangutans, and other iconic wildlife,' said Dr Robecca Jumin, Head of Conservation Sabah. 'We support progress, but not at the environment's expense. Infrastructure that avoids environmentally sensitive areas is not only better for nature — it's also climate-resilient and cost-effective in the long run. Too often, environmental experts are consulted too late to influence road alignments or wildlife crossing designs. We hope the handbook and insights from this workshop will guide more informed, proactive planning and decision-making.' WWF-Malaysia has long advocated for wildlife-friendly linear infrastructures by introducing the training module, Green Roads and Highways: Protecting Biodiversity in 2023 and the Green Budgeting Checklist in 2024. These works result from a collaboration between WWF-Malaysia, Aurecon Group, and the Ministry of Works Malaysia, targeted at mainstreaming environmental considerations in road and highway projects. All road and highway development projects should apply the mitigation hierarchy to manage environmental impacts responsibly. First, efforts must focus on avoiding sensitive areas such as high conservation value forests, water catchments, steep slopes, and key biodiversity zones. Where avoidance isn't possible, impacts should be minimised by realigning routes. Mitigation measures — like viaducts, culverts, and canopy bridges — can then help reduce harm and maintain connectivity. Finally, affected areas should be restored through habitat rehabilitation and reconnection. This approach supports both biodiversity conservation and sustainable infrastructure development. 'Phase 3 of the Pan Borneo Highway offers a crucial opportunity to involve different agencies and sectors early in the planning process, allowing for potential impacts on biodiversity to be identified in advance so that they can be avoided where possible and minimised where necessary,' says Fernanda Teixeira, Linear Infrastructure Ecology Advisor from the Center for Large Landscape Conservation. Workshop participants reached a clear consensus on the need to integrate environmental screening assessments early in road planning to avoid environmentally sensitive areas and ensure effective mitigation measures. These measures include wildlife-friendly crossing structures such as viaducts and overpasses, anti-poaching safeguards, and speed management measures like rumble strips, speed cameras, optical speed bars, and electronic message signs, particularly in high-risk wildlife crossing zones. Additionally, proper motorist alert signage is essential to ensure the safe movement of both wildlife and road users. Participants called for strong budgeting mechanisms for pre-construction wildlife assessments, provision of temporary barriers, safeguards during construction, and post-construction monitoring and maintenance works. The workshop reaffirmed the importance of collaborative partnerships, such as Sabah's Coalition 3H – Humans, Habitats, Highways – where NGOs contribute valuable information on potential wildlife crossing areas and effective mitigation measures. The workshop concluded with a shared commitment to turning knowledge into action, ensuring that future infrastructure projects are safer for both wildlife and people.
