PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has denied a report that construction of the island’s light rail transit (LRT) and Pan Island Link 1 (PIL1) will begin in June next year.

The state government has yet to obtain approvals for works to commence, he said in a statement in response to the report by The Star.

“The report is unsubstantiated as the Penang government has yet to obtain the approvals.

“The Penang government is currently at the various stages of submission for approvals in our dealing with the federal government for both PIL1 and LRT, and is confident of obtaining the sanctions in due course.”

He described the report as “misleading”, saying it should be corrected to avoid confusion among stakeholders.

The English-language daily quoted unnamed sources, who said the Environment Department gave the RM9.6 billion PIL1 project the green light last month.

Both LRT and PIL1 fall under the ambitious RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), which has locals split over environmental concerns and the need to resolve the island’s traffic woes.

PTMP will be funded by the sale of three man-made islands created by the Penang South Reclamation. – April 8, 2019.