Penang undersea tunnel feasibility studies 87% complete, says Guan Eng

KUALA LUMPUR (March 31): Feasibility studies for the proposed RM4 billion Penang undersea tunnel are 87% complete, said Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. (pictured)

He said the remaining 13% of the studies will be carried out upon receipt of a development master plan from Rayston Consortium (Butterworth) Sdn Bhd, which had signed an agreement with the Barisan Nasional state government in 1999 to reclaim 650ha of the sea in Butterworth.

Speaking at a press conference, Lim said the undersea tunnel, part of the RM6.3 billion integrated infrastructure project awarded to Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, needs to be built by 2027 and therefore there was still time.

He was responding to Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof's statement yesterday, expressing concern over the delay in the tunnel studies which the state had promised to submit by early 2017.

Lim said Rayston is currently working on the master plan detailing the projects planned on the reclaimed land. 

"We are trying to pressure them (to speed up)," he said. "We have to honour the contract signed (with Rayston) but we stress that this will not interfere with the completion date of the tunnel project, which is 2027. We still have time," he added.

Fadillah, in his statement, also claimed that the cost of the feasibility studies and detailed design for the Penang integrated infrastructure project at RM305 million was excessive and beyond the usual cost guidelines for construction projects of that nature.

Responding to this, Lim insisted that the RM305 million cost was in line with Public Works Department (JKR)'s costing and in fact 5.5% below the authority's scale.

On a proposal by the state to replace the undersea tunnel project with a bridge, which was highlighted by Fadillah, Lim said the state had come out with the proposal to overcome the delay in the feasibility studies caused by the Butterworth reclamation work.

Lim said normally approvals in principle are given first for such bridge projects because detailed designs are costly, and that was why the Penang government had sought approval without submitting supporting documents.

"We must agree in principle, then follow up with supporting documents," he added. — theedgemarkets.com

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