CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng today clarified that he was pessimistic only about construction of the three highways, and not the tunnel, taking off due to the ongoing investigation into the undersea tunnel and highways project.

He said he did not mean the tunnel in his remark, as that part of project was still at a feasibility study stage and only due for completion in 2027.

“Don’t twist my remarks. I have been saying that Barisan Nasional is trying to sabotage the project.

“But we have not started work on the tunnel. No payments been made for the tunnel. We are focusing on the roads first. Many don’t accept this reality.

“When I said I don’t know if the project can go on, I meant the highways. We only received EIA (environmental impact assessment) approval for them late last year, and before work could start, people were arrested,” he told reporters in Penang today.

The three highways are the 10.53km Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road, the 5.7km Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Air Itam bypass, and the 4km Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway-Persiaran Gurney bypass.

Yesterday, Lim cast doubt on whether the project could still take off, considering that the entire project was under investigation by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

The anti-graft agency launched an investigation on the project earlier this month, raiding government department and company offices in Penang and the Klang Valley, recording statements from witnesses and remanding several people connected to the project.

Among the key individuals remanded was the director of the contractor that won the open tender to take on the tunnel and highways project, Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd.

Today, Lim also asked the tunnel project’s main critic, MCA’s Dr Wee Ka Siong, if he would apologise for saying that the agreement with China Railway Construction Corporation was not stamped.

Wee, who is MCA deputy president and minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, had alleged that the agreement was not legally binding.

“I have proved that the agreement was stamped. What more does he want to say? Will he apologise? He has not replied,” he said.

CRCC had signed on as the engineering, procurement, construction and design consultant for Consortium Zenith. The Chinese firm is one of the consultants for the tunnel project. – January 27, 2018.