PENANG is hoping to kick-start its first road project under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) in August, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said.

The Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Ayer Itam bypass, also known as Package 2, is part of the undersea tunnel and three major roads project undertaken by Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC).

“There are still some final touch up to be completed from now until April, hopefully. 

“It includes final design, and acquisitions of private and federal land before the work or construction agreement can be signed between the state government and the consortium.

“If this can be completed, the first project will start in August,” Chow said during an interview on BFM’s Breakfast Grille programme this morning.

Apart from the tunnel, CZC’s RM6.3 billion project under PTMP also includes the Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang bypass (Package 1) and Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Persiaran Gurney bypass (Package 3).

Chow said the final design for Package 1 was still in progress while CZC had been told to “hold on” with Package 3.

For the undersea tunnel, the independent checking engineer is now checking CZC’s feasibility study for a final report to present to the state government.

Last September, a joint venture between Vertice Bhd and Vizione Holdings Bhd won the RM815 million contract from CZC to handle the construction work for Package 2.

Earlier this month, Vertice executive director Wong Kwai Wah reportedly said work on Package 2 was supposed to begin next month, but they could not start because “the Penang government’s land is not ready”.

Wong said they plan to begin work once the reclaimed land located on the Persiaran Gurney foreshore was ready.

The Penang government is paying CZC for the tunnel and three roads via land swaps. The two plots in question are reclaimed land from the Seri Tanjung Pinang 1 and 2 projects by developer E&O Bhd in Tanjung Bungah and Persiaran Gurney.

When asked about the criticism surrounding the land swaps, Chow defended the payment method by saying that “the state does not have the money to finance the projects”.

“The state negotiated with the developer and got 20% of the reclaimed land. So we are using that 20% to finance the tunnel and three major roads.”

Land swap deals were also not new, Chow said, as the previous Barisan Nasional state administration had used the same method to pay for the Jelutong Expressway, now named the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

He also defended the need for the tunnel to link the northern part of the island and northern Seberang Prai amid arguments that the Second Penang Bridge located much further south was underused. 

He said the second bridge was supposed to be where the tunnel was being proposed, but had ended up south due to other considerations.

“There are no concerns about the tunnel other than the cost… the northern link is still feasible. It will be the shortest connection linking the island and the mainland,” he said.

The first bridge connects the central part of the island with central Seberang Prai.

Asked about the environmental impact of the tunnel, Chow said the assessment had not been done as the tunnel project was still at the feasibility study stage.

Chow said any development would have environmental impact, but the issue was more about how the impact would be mitigated. – February 28, 2019.