GEORGE TOWN – The Penang government and opposition Gerakan have locked horns over the cost of the Paya Terubong Twin Road (Jalan Bukit Kukus) project.
State infrastructure and transport exco Zairil Khir Johari today lashed back at state Gerakan chief Oh Tong Keong for not being “eloquent” about the matter.
This was after Oh had earlier in a statement accused Zairil of trying to hide the facts regarding the highway expenditure and criticised the state government for not being transparent when announcing the cost.
“In May 2014, the former Penang chief minister Lim Guan Eng announced that MBPP (Penang Island City Council) and private developers would jointly bear the project cost of RM300 million. Zairil recently announced that the cost of the project is RM545 million.
“Isn’t the cost estimate announced by Zairil almost twice as high as the cost estimate announced by Lim Guan Eng?” questioned Oh.
He said people are confused and wonder if there is any ulterior motive to why there is a different cost for the project each time an announcement is made.
In his rebuttal, Zairil explained that it is a three-part project implemented by different parties, namely PLB Land Sdn Bhd, Geo Valley Sdn Bhd and MBPP.
“In terms of cost, the MBPP division will incur RM275 million and this cost has not increased despite the project’s delay,” he said in a statement.
“RM545 million is the total cost of the project, including the parts implemented by the private sector.”
Zairil, who is DAP assemblyman for Tg Bungah, responded that Oh does not understand the description of the construction project in terms of percentage calculated based on time and quantity of work set.
“If the work completion period is extended via EOT (extension of time), then of course the percentage of work progress will also change. This calculation is common in all construction projects,” he said in a statement.
To date, the progress level under the MBPP division is at 96% and is expected to be completed by year-end.
The latest EOT until the end of the year has been given to contractors due to issues such as land acquisition, slope stabilisation work, utility diversion, landslides at worksites, and problems related to the movement control order since 2020.
Thus, part of Jalan Bukit Kukus built by MBPP is expected to be open to road users by year-end. – The Vibes, October 23, 2021
