Socio-Economic Impact of Pan Borneo Highway to Local Community

In pursuit of modernization, various developmental initiatives have been undertaken to achieve the status of a developed nation in the eyes of the world. The Pan Borneo Highway is one of the mega projects to enhance the quality of existing roads to gain a better accessibility and more efficient highway. However, this project has directly and indirectly created a huge impact on the socio-economic of Engkilili's population. Therefore, the study was conducted to identify problems occurred during and after the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway and to suggest measures to mitigate the possible adverse effects. This quantitative study was conducted by administering a questionnaire form distributed randomly to 101 household heads to obtain study results that were then analyzed using IBM SPSS 20. The study found that the impact that the project has had on the project is the issue of settlements, daily routines and the economic status of the population. In addition, the construction of the highway was carried out near the residents' quarters forcing the residents to move to other areas. Other than daily interruption on the life of the residents, the project also has an impact on the source of income for the people when agricultural areas are taken by the authorities to construct the highways. This has also had an impact on the quality of life of the people involved in the project. In conclusion, the construction of the Pan Borneo Highway does indeed affect the quality of life of the locals. Therefore, mitigation measures have been proposed to reduce the socioeconomic issues that exist during and after the construction of the highway.