The Pan-Borneo Highway () including the sections now known as the Pan Borneo Expressway, is a controlled-access highway on Borneo Island, connecting two Malaysian states, Sabah and Sarawak, with Brunei. The length of the entire highway is for the Malaysian section, for the Bruneian section.
The highway is numbered AH150 in the Asian Highway Network and as Federal Route 1 in Sarawak. In Sabah, the route numbers given are 1, 13 and 22. The upgrading of the highway to dual carriageway is a joint project between both governments, which was started in 2015.
Route background
The Pan-Borneo Highway, Asian Highway Route AH150 is supposed to be a circular highway that runs along the coastlines of Sarawak, Brunei, and Sabah. The Malaysian and Indonesian sections are linked together by a highway known as the Trans-Malindo Highway (Jalan Lintas Malindo), which is gazetted as Federal Route 21 in Malaysia. However, a missing link does exist from Serudong, Sabah to Simanggaris, North Kalimantan, which is supposed to connect Sabah with North Kalimantan.
The Malaysian section of the Pan-Borneo Highway is signposted as Federal Route 1 in Sarawak and Federal Routes 1, 22 and 13 in Sabah. The 1,077-km highway in Sarawak is divided to 92 sections altogether, and the sections are sometimes being signposted along with the route number with the syntax of xx-yy, where xx is the route number and yy is the section code. In Brunei, the highway is signposted simply as the AH150.
History The Pan-Borneo Highway was built due to the lack of the intercity highway network in the island of Borneo. In East Malaysia, the intercity highway plan only existed after the Second World War ended in 1945, after the states of North Borneo (Sabah) and Sarawak were ceded to Britain to become British Crown Colonies. By 1949, the Governor of North Borneo reported that there were of roads paved with asphalt, of other metalled roads, of dirt roads and of bridle paths.
The construction of the intercity highway network in Sabah and Sarawak intensified at a faster pace after both states participated in the Federation of Malaysia in 1963. In Sabah, the first federally-funded intercity highway project ever constructed was the Federal Route 22 from Kota Kinabalu to Sandakan, as a joint project between the Malaysian federal government with the government of Australia. Also dubbed as the "Malaysia-Australia Road Project" (MARP), the construction of the FT22 highway began in 1968 and was completed in 1982 with Telupid town became the main centre of the project headquarters.
In the meantime, the Kota Kinabalu–Papar section of the Federal Route 1 was completed in 1964, followed by the Kota Kinabalu–Kudat section which was completed in the 1970s. The entire Sabah Federal Route 1 was completed in 1981 after the construction of the final section from Papar to Sindumin was completed that year. Two years later in 1983, the construction of the Tawau–Semporna Highway (part of the FT13 highway and the entire section of the SA51 highway) was completed. The construction of the remaining section of the FT13 highway was completed in the early 1990s after the construction of Sungai Kinabatangan and Sungai Segama bridges were completed.
Meanwhile, in Sarawak, the construction of the first intercity trunk highway in Sarawak was commenced in 1965, dubbed as the "First Trunk Road". Most of the highway network in Sarawak was constructed within the decades of the 1960s to 1980s. The Lawas–Merapok–Sindumin section was completed in 1981 while the final missing link from Sibu to Bintulu was completed in 1985. However, the highway had not been fully paved with asphalt yet at that time; it was only by the end of Sixth Malaysia Plan (RMK6) in 1995 that the FT1 highway in Sarawak was fully paved.
Before 1996, all routes in the Pan-Borneo Highway network in Malaysia were state highways. After the Federal Roads Act 1959 was made effective in Sabah and Sarawak in 1984, those highways were re-gazetted as federal highways in 1996 with the route number of FT1 (from Sematan to Kudat through Brunei), FT13 (Mile 32 Sandakan to Tawau) and FT22 (Tamparuli to Sandakan).Federal Roads Act 1959 (Act 376). Accessed on 8 November 2015. Those highways were later gazetted as a part of Asian Highway Network Route AH150.
Although some sections had been upgraded to divided highways, the Pan-Borneo Highway was notorious for its poor condition in many sections. , of the Indonesian Trans-Kalimantan Highway was built below the Asian Highway Network Class III standards (lane width: 3.0 m; design speed limit: 80 km/h). Meanwhile, the overall condition in many sections of the Malaysian section of the Highway was poor with many potholes, because most sections of the highway were built with standards as low as JKR R3 (design speed limit: 70 km/h; minimum lane width: 3.0 m). A study to upgrade the entire highway to a super two highway under JKR R5 standard (design speed limit: 100 km/h; minimum lane width: 3.5 m) was done, which was expected to cost RM16 billion. Ultimately, the Malaysian federal government had opted to upgrade the Pan-Borneo Highway to a divided highway. The upgrade works of the Pan-Borneo Highway to a divided highway is expected to be completed by 2023 for the Sarawakian section and by 2025 for the Sabahan section, with the overall cost of RM27 billion.
Intersections along the Pan Borneo Highway Malaysia Federal Route 1 (Sarawak)#List of interchanges, intersections and towns Brunei Pan-Borneo Highway#List of interchanges, intersections and towns Malaysia Federal Route 1 (Sabah)#List of interchanges Kimanis-Keningau Highway#List of interchanges Malaysia Federal Route 22#List of interchanges Malaysia Federal Route 13 (Sabah)#List of interchanges
Pan Borneo Highway Sabah Under the rule of the then BN government, led by Musa Aman, UEM, MMC and Warisan Tarang Construction Sdn Bhd teamed up and formed the UEM-MMC-Warisan Tarang JV Sdn Bhd via a joint venture (JV) and received their role as project delivery partner (PDP) via Borneo Highway PDP (BHP) Sdn Bhd in 2016. Warisan Tarang owns BHP. It starts at Sindumin and ends at Serudong. In 2019, UEM announced that UEM-MMC-Warisan Tarang JV Sdn Bhd agreed to the WARISAN-Pakatan Harapan government's decision to terminate their role as PDP. Since then, the joint venture company would give up their operation and give the project to other contractors to continue, mostly to Public Works Department or Jabatan Kerja Raya (JKR). This has caused the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway project to be disrupted in the long run until September 2020.
In October 2020, a new Sabahan government was established under Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), led by Hajiji Noor, defeating Shafie Apdal's WARISAN in the state election. The leaders of GRS announced that the Sabah Pan Borneo Highway will be restarted and will not terminate the process until the Pan Borneo projects are successfully completed.
The Pan Borneo Sabah Highway consist of 3 phases, namely Phase 1, which involved Sindumin-Kota Kinabalu-Kudat, Ranau-Mile 32 Sandakan-Tawau stretch of up to 706 km, while Phase 2 involved Tamparuli-Ranau (96km) and Phase 3 involved Tawau-Kalabakan-Keningau-Kimanis (432km).
Phase 1A is planned for completion in 2026, and Phase 1B will be completed by 2029.
The contractors and WPCs involved are:
Phase 1A (Sipitang – Kudat – Tawau) Juta Hajat Sdn Bhd – Syarikat Kumpulan Kemajuan KK (Sabah) Sdn Bhd JV – WP01 Sindumin to Kampung Melalia (RM669 million) (28.4 km) (Start Date: 15 May 2017; Expected Completion Date: 3 December 2021; Extended Completion Date: H1 2026; Latest Update 11 August 2026) Expowarisan Sdn Bhd – Katata Construction (Sabah) Sdn Bhd JV – WP02 Kampung Melalia to Beaufort (RM906 million) (32.9 km) (Start Date: 23 May 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 December 2022; Extended Completion Date: May 2028) Tanah Permai Sdn Bhd – WP03 Beaufort to Bongawan (RM477 million) (23.4 km) (Start Date: 23 May 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 August 2022; Extended Completion Date: H2 2026; Latest Update 21 August 2026) Pembinaan Kekal Mewah Sdn Bhd – WP04 Bongawan to Papar (RM562 million) (23 km) (Start Date: 23 May 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 July 2022; Extended Completion Date: H2 2026; Latest Update 2 September 2026) Akif Jaya Sdn Bhd – WP05 Papar to Donggongon (RM323 million) (11.7 km) (Start Date: 31 July 2016; Expected Completion Date: 3 November 2020; Actual Completed Date: Aug 2022) Pembinaan Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd – WP06 Putatan to Inanam (RM913 million) (19.5km) (Start Date: 15 January 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 May 2022; Extended Completion Date: Mar 2028; Latest Update 14 September 2026) Perwira Progresif Construction Sdn Bhd – WP07 Inanam to Sepanggar (RM449 million) (11.7km) (Start Date: 15 January 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 April 2022; Extended Completion Date: Nov 2025; Latest Update 15 September 2026) Sinkong Fleet JV Sdn Bhd – WP08 Sepanggar to Berungis Roundabout (RM548 million) (9.9km) (Start Date: 23 May 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 September 2022; Extended Completion Date: H2 2026; Latest Update 17 September 2026) Sinkong Rastamas JV Sdn Bhd – WP09 Serusop to Pituru (Start Date: 20 January 2025; Expected Completion Date: 19 July 2028) Kontraktor Fokus Niaga Sdn Bhd – Jutawan Borneo Sdn Bhd – Wilayah Kaya Sdn Bhd JV – WP10 Pituru to Rampayan Laut (RM554 million) (32.2km) (Start Date: 6 June 2018; Expected Completion Date: 3 August 2022; Extended Completion Date: H2 2026; Latest Update 11 July 2026) Jewel Borneo Sdn Bhd – WP15 Tawau to Kampung Check Point (Actual Completed Date: Aug 2023) BHO Sdn Bhd (terminated) / Mancon Berhad – WP21 Lahad Datu Bypass (RM158 million) (6.9km) (Start Date: 7 December 2016; Expected Completion Date: 3 July 2020; Actual Completed Date: Oct 2023) Sri Jutaya Sdn Bhd – WP27 Mile 32 to Kampung Lot M, Sandakan (RM493 million) (18.1km) (Start Date: 2 May 2017; Expected Completion Date: 3 August 2021; Actual Completed Date: Nov 2022) Pembinaan Kekal Mewah Sdn Bhd (2nd round) – WP28 Mile 32 to Moynod Junction (Latest Update 11 May 2026) Korporat Fokus Niaga JV Sdn Bhd – WP29 Moynod Junction to Sapi Nangoh (Latest Update 11 August 2026) Perwira Progresif Construction Sdn Bhd (2nd round) – WP30 Sapi Nangoh to Sungai Baoto (Latest Update 21 August 2026) Under tender – WP36 Berungis Roundabout to Kota Belud Under tender – WP37 Kota Belud to Langkon Under tender – WP38 Langkon to Matunggong Under tender – WP39 Matunggong to Kudat Hospital Under tender – WP40 Langkon to Pitas Under tender – WP41 Pitas to Kanibongan-Paitan Junction Under tender – WP42 Sandakan-Beluran Junction to Beluran Under tender – WP43 Beaufort to Kuala Penyu Under tender – WP44 Kuala Penyu to Menumbok Under tender - WP52 Mile 32 to Gum-Gum Under tender - WP53 Libaran Bypass (Retender) Under tender - WP54 Kg. Kalipoun to Kg. Mangkubou Laut
Phase 1B (Kudat – Semporna) YTO Group Sdn Bhd – WP11 Rampayan Laut to Sarang Pembinaan Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd (2nd round) – WP12 Sarang to Temuno (Start Date: 1 April 2024; Expected Completion Date: 31 March 2027) Pembinaan Azam Jaya Sdn Bhd (3rd round) – Katata Construction (Sabah) Sdn Bhd (2nd round) JV – WP13 Temuno to Bingolon Tekad Warisan (M) Sdn Bhd – WP14 Bingolon to Simpang Mengayau Under tender – WP15 Simpang Mengayau Advance Grow Sdn Bhd – WP16 Kampung Check Point to Sungai Kalumpang Kenari Express Sdn Bhd – WP17 Sungai Kalumpang to Madai Pembinaan Mesra Rezeki Sdn Bhd – WP18 Madai to IGN Estate Korporat Muda Sdn Bhd – WP19 IGN Estate to Agri Harvest Exodaya Sdn Bhd – WP20 Agri Harvest to Sepagaya Pembinaan Urusmesra Sdn Bhd – WP22 Lahad Datu Bypass to Kampung Sandau Pembinaan Kerjadi Sdn Bhd – WP23 Kampung Sandau to Sungai Takala Wilayah Kaya Sdn Bhd (2nd round) – WP24 Sungai Takala to Kampung Perpaduan Datuk Moh Jad Reka Kaya Sdn Bhd – WP25 Kampung Perpaduan Datuk Moh to Sukau