THE Penang government today revealed plans to introduce another tunnel project as a means to alleviate the worsening traffic problem on the island.

The 10.5km tunnel is part of the entire 19.5km Pan Island Link (PIL) project that connects Persiaran Gurney in the north and the second Penang Bridge in the south.

The proposed tunnel, which is 70% of the PIL, will cut through Penang Hill and the hills of Paya Terubong and Sg Ara.

This was revealed today when Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced that the PIL’s environmental impact assessment (EIA) second schedule report was now open for public viewing for 30 days until August 10.

The RM7.5 billion PIL project is part of the larger multi-billion ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), with SRS Consortium as the project delivery partner.

In explaining the proposed tunnel, Chow said it was important to have an outer ring route that would take traffic out of the already congested areas.

“Looking at the topography of the island, the central part is made up of hills. The available flat land is already used for development.

“We have to consider elevated highways and tunnels like those in Kuala Lumpur that will take traffic away from the city,” he told a press conference at Komtar today when announcing the EIA.

On the tunnel going into Penang Hill, SRS project director Szeto Wai Loong said it would be at least 100m beneath the top of the hill.

He said the last proposal was to build a viaduct but a tunnel would allow the construction to leave the trees and sensitive areas untouched.

He also said the tunnel would not affect the operations of the funicular train.

The PIL project will also see a 250m elevated highway across the popular Penang Municipal Park (Youth Park), an important green lung and recreational area on the island.

Chow said the elevated highway was a necessity in the project.

Aware of the importance of Youth Park, he said SRS was proposing to build a long-span cable-stay bridge across the park with only two pillars to preserve the green lung as much as possible.

“The Youth Park can still continue to be Youth Park when the project is completed,” he said.

The entire PIL project will also affect 234 buildings of various types, but Chow said the implementation of the project would be done with minimal disruption to the environment and public daily activities.

“The state government and EIA consultants will respond to the Environmental Department (DOE) on all the written comments from the public during the display period.

“Feedback from the people will be addressed by the state government and submitted to the DOE headquarters for review. Our responses will be included in the final EIA report for the project.”

Upon completion, the PIL will serve as a strategic bypass as a second north-south highway after the existing Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway to disperse traffic efficiently. The new highway will be toll-free.

Members of the public interested in submitting feedback and comments must do it before August 24. They can send their comments to the DOE director-general at the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry.

The EIA report can be viewed from 8am to 5pm during office hours at the following locations in Penang, Putrajaya and Kuala Lumpur:

• Penang government administrative complex in Komtar, Penang
• Penang Island City Council’s town hall on Jalan Padang Kota Lama, Penang
• Seberang Prai Municipal Council, Bandar Perda in Bukit Mertajam, Penang
• Penang DOE office at Wisma Persekutuan, Kepala Batas, Penang
• Penang Public Library Corporation, Seberang Jaya, Penang
• Penang Development Corporation, Bayan Lepas, Penang
• Air Itam police station, Penang
• Penang Botanic Gardens, George Town, Penang
• National Library of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur
• DOE Library at the Environment and Natural Resources Ministry, Putrajaya

The report can also be viewed online at the websites of the DOE, the Penang government, the PTMP, and the EIA consultant, Wiranda Sdn Bhd. – July 13, 2018.