BUTTERWORTH – The Penang Port Commission (PPC) will send the written review on the undersea tunnel project to the Penang government next week.
Its chairman, Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said that currently, PPC, with the Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), were completing the written review, including a detailed report from the shipping point of view before submitting it to the state government.
“We will submit the detailed report including in terms of expertise and the angle of shipping related to (the construction of undersea tunnel) next week for (action) by the state government.
“Currently, we have collected all the information and we also have our reservations too (regarding the construction of the undersea tunnel) but we have listed them in the report,” he told reporters here today.
He conducted a working visit earlier to the Sultan Abdul Halim Ferry Terminal in Butterworth, here, and the Raja Tun Uda Ferry Terminal in George Town near here to see the progress of upgrading work at the two terminals.
Tan was commenting on news reports that the state government had still not finalised any decision on the feasibility studies of the undersea tunnel project that had been tabled to the State Executive Council last February.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow was reported to have said that the state government would make a decision on the undersea tunnel after receiving the written review on the feasibility studies of the project from PPC and PPSB.
He was also reported to have said that the written review was needed so that the state government could make further considerations even though technically the feasibility studies indicated that the undersea tunnel project could be implemented.
The 6.5-km undersea tunnel and three main roads were among several projects contained in the Penang Transport Master Plan worth RM46 billion.
Prior to this, it was reported that the concession company, Consortium Zenith Construction had completed the feasibility studies at the end of 2020, after it was postponed for four years, and handed it over to the state government in December in the same year. – Bernama, March 26, 2022
