Cost of building road to transport bauxite to be borne by mining operators - Adnan

The Pahang government has decided that the cost of building a special road to transport bauxite from Bukit Goh to the Kuantan Port will be borne by the mining operators.

Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said based on a briefing by the Land and Mines Office, the plan to build the road was still on.

"The cost will be borne among the bauxite mining operators, not the state government.

"What can we do, royalty was not paid. Now, we impose a new regulation, to enter the port, they have to pay royalty," he told reporters after flagging-off 1,000 participants of the #kayuhansehatisejiwa2016 held in conjunction with the state-level Fly the Jalur Gemilang campaign here today.

He said this when asked on the proposed construction of the special road for use to transport bauxite and avoid polluting the environment in the surrounding housing estates as was announced by Natural Resources and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar last February.

Wan Junaidi had said the plan to construct the road, stretching more than five kilometres, had been agreed by the state government and Works Department.

Adnan said the state government would also issue a standard operating procedure (SOP)after the expiry of the current moratorium on bauxite mining to be observed during the transportation of bauxite.

They include on the requirement for the lorries to be clean, the drivers to observe the speed limit, no overloading and will not pose a threat to public safety, he added.