Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Abdul Rahman Dahlan said the techno-economic study covered the engineering, technical and financial modelling aspects.
It was not just a socio-economic study, which he added had already been done by some universities.
“This is a crucial procedure before we can start building the bridge,” he said in a statement posted on his Twitter account.
He said the Labuan-Menumbok project was yet another grand vision of Najib to provide seamless connectivity to the people of Malaysia.
“The bridge is another game changer project under the prime minister’s long-term vision. His vision for Malaysia is working,” he said.
Rahman said the bridge was not just for Labuan but also for the southern region of Sabah and the northern region of Sarawak.
“These areas will receive an economic boost through the bridge as a catalyst. Imagine people in Sipitang, Sabah and Lawas, Sarawak, no longer having to drive for hours to Kota Kinabalu to fly out of the Kota Kinabalu International Airport.
“They can just drive leisurely to Labuan Airport via the bridge,” he said.
Najib said the bridge would be one of the high-impact projects in the Labuan Development Blueprint 2030.
“Some people say it may not be viable in terms of the cost of construction but the government does not just consider the rate of return. We want to see a holistic development because we cannot quantify,” he said.
The prime minister said that if the bridge could be a catalyst for the economic transformation of Labuan, the federal government would have no objection to approving its construction.
“If the bridge can spur economic activities, provide the people with access to and from the Sabah mainland and promote investment, then it will be useful to build it.”
He said that once the techno-economic feasibility study on the proposed bridge had been completed and the BN continued to administer the country after the general election, it would not be impossible to go ahead with its construction.
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