GEORGE TOWN – The indecisiveness of the state government whether to go with a third bridge linking the island to the mainland or construct an undersea tunnel is only confusing the public, said Penang MCA.
State MCA secretary Yeoh Chin Kah said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow must explain the cost and land that had been given to developers as fees.
He said in a press conference today that MCA has listed seven issues the state government needs to clarify on the controversial undersea tunnel project, which has been ongoing for the past eight years.
“In general, the payment for the feasibility study is not more than 1.5% of the project cost, but the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel and three highways is RM305 million, which is 4.8% of the project cost of RM6.3 billion.
“According to the agreement, the state government will exchange 110 acres (44.5ha) of land for the cost of building a seabed tunnel and three highways. If the undersea tunnel becomes the third bridge with only half the cost, will the state government continue to give 110 acres of land to the developer?”
Yeoh questioned why, even though the agreement for the undersea tunnel project was signed in 2013, the state government is mulling building a third bridge instead.
He added that the project has yet to start for eight years, but the developer who acquired land worth RM208 million as a feasibility study fee had already built a luxury condominium on the land.
“Why has the state government never urged the developers to submit feasibility study reports for these eight years? No project management timeline? On the other hand, the state government is only actively reclaiming the sea to hand over the land to developers.”
Yeoh said Penangites have the right to know the details of the controversial undersea tunnel project as the issue is of public interest.
“Chow’s explanation yesterday was not enough. The people have the right to know about the development of Penang. They just asked Chow to give an explanation without distorting the facts.”
Yesterday, Chow had said in a statement that the Penang government has not ruled out the possibility of building a third bridge connecting the mainland and the island, pending an official presentation of the undersea tunnel’s feasibility studies.
This follows a local daily report last Saturday that the controversial undersea tunnel project will most likely be scrapped and replaced with an elevated bridge that would cost less and impact the environment less.
The Penang undersea tunnel is one of four infrastructure projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan to ease the island’s chronic traffic problems.
The proposed highway projects include the 4.2km Gurney Drive-Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Bypass, the 4.6km Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu-Bandar Baru Air Itam Bypass, and the 12km Tg Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road. – The Vibes, September 28, 2021
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