PENANG undersea tunnel builder Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd said it is in no hurry to submit reports on the project.

Commenting on Works Minister Fadillah Yusof’s remarks that he had not received reports on the project despite promised by the Penang government 18 months ago, Consortium Zenith senior executive director Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said the tunnel would only be built in 2023.

Meanwhile, the consortium had more pertinent projects to look into, particularly three major road projects that are linked to the tunnel, he said.

“The consortium is focusing all its resources into implementing two road projects at the moment.

“We are now waiting for the EIA (environmental impact assessments) Schedule Two to be approved by the Department of Environmental (DOE).

“We expect the results of the EIA reports for the two roads anytime now. Construction for these two roads will come sooner (than the tunnel). So it is more pertinent to focus on them now,” he told a press conference at Komtar today.

On Monday, Fadillah said his ministry had yet to receive the Penang government’s reports on the tunnel project, despite several promises by the state.

He said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had initially promised to submit the reports at the end of last year but the submission was delayed by another six months at the latter’s request.

Fadillah said Guan Eng had given the excuse that studies on the project were only 87% done and that the reports would only be sent once they were completed.

The entire tunnel project, which is undertaken by Consortium Zenith after winning an open tender, comes in two parts.

Apart from the 7.2km tunnel linking Butterworth on the mainland and Persiaran Gurney on the island, it also involved the building of three major roads.

They are the 10.53km Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road in the northern coast; the 5.7km Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Air Itam bypass; and the 4km Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Persiaran Gurney bypass.

Consortium Zenith is hoping to get approvals to start the north coast paired road and the 5.7km Air Itam bypass soon, since the EIA reports were sent to DOE in April.

“Only after the two road projects have started will we be focusing on the undersea tunnel’s feasibility study, which started in February 2015, was now 92.9% complete.

“It is already a well known fact that the tunnel’s construction will only start in 2023 and completed in 2027. This has been reported many times,” Zarul said.

The Consortium Zenith boss also said Zenith had already informed the state government that the company did not want to “waste time” rushing the tunnel study at the moment.

Zarul said the matter was between the state government and Fadillah, and had “nothing to do with him”.

“I don’t need to hurry the study. The tunnel still has a long way to go. There is no urgency (to rush it) when it will incur costs that we have to bear first.

“It is not going to benefit (the consortium when) the state is also not going to pay us,” he said, explaining that Consortium Zenith was not being paid with cash but by land swap.

Zarul also said the consortium’s lawyers were now studying the various statements made about the tunnel and road projects that were “untrue”.

He said the lawyers had been instructed to handle the statements and take action if necessary.

“We are not directing it at the minister. Not necessarily. There had been many statements made about the tunnel and road projects in the past,” he said.

Penang public works exco Lim Hock Seng, who was present, said even in the request for proposal (RFP) it was started that the tunnel completion would only be in 2027.

“We still have time,” he said.

The opposition-controlled Penang government had been questioned repeatedly about the tunnel and road projects in the past since the plans were proposed before the 13th general election.

Three months ago, Barisan Nasional questioned why the state government paid RM305 million for the proposed roads’ feasibility studies and designs.

The coalition claimed that the state overpaid the contractor by four times. BN also threatened to lodge a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.

Zenith explained that the high cost was due to a lack of local consultants and specialists with the experience in projects like double-decked elevated highways, and land and marine tunnels. – October 11, 2017.