Penang undersea tunnel feasibility study ready in April
Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd expects to complete feasibility studies for the controversial RM6.3 billion Penang undersea tunnel infrastructure project and major roads in April this year, said its chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli.
Consortium Zenith is a joint-venture between Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and China Railway Construction Co Ltd, together with Beijing Urban Construction Group, Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd and Juteras Sdn Bhd.
Zenith PMC Sdn Bhd, a unit of Zenith Construction, signed a joint-venture agreement with Astral Supreme Construction Sdn Bhd in September 2013 to carry out a feasibility study, design and environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the undersea tunnel.
“We should be able to complete the feasibility studies in April. At the moment, we’re ahead of time. We’re supposed to complete the feasibility studies by June but we’re now bringing it forward,” he told reporters after the signing a memorandum of agreement with Koperasi Staff CIDB Malaysia Bhd (KoCIDB) here yesterday.
He added that after the completion of the feasibility studies, it will also need to undertake the detailed design works.
“Things are still not defined until we complete the feasibility studies,” Zarul added.
When asked if the undersea tunnel project is going to exceed its budget, he said it is a business risk that the company has to take but is being managed.
“Even if it (costs) overshoots, it would be the businessman’s problem and not the state’s problem. The state has capped it at RM6.3 billion, and we have to work within the RM6.3 billion,” said Zarul, who remained mum on the financing of the RM6.3 billion project.
Consortium Zenith was awarded the contract for the mammoth project by the state government in March 2013. A contract to seal the deal however was only signed in October 2013 after protests from the public brought into question the viability of the project.
Earlier, Consortium Zenith signed a memorandum of agreement with KoCIDB for a labour supply and management package, estimated at some RM200 million, for the construction of the Penang undersea tunnel infrastructure project and major roads.
It is expected to start construction of the first local Integrated Construction Workers Complex (ICWC) by the first quarter of 2015, which will accommodate for an estimated 2,000 workers who will be involved in the construction of the 6.5km George Town-Butterworth undersea tunnel project.
Zarul said the construction of the complex is to be completed by end of 2015 or early 2016. The construction of the first phase of ICWC is estimated at RM10 million to RM15 million.
“ICWC will be working hand in hand with a consortium of KoCIDB which is financially sound and has the experience at building complexes of similar kind in the country,” he said.
The complex is spread across a land area of 14,164 sq meters in Penang. It will provide a full range of amenities including housing, business conference centres, cafeteria, sports centre, recreational facilities, mosque, clinic and supermarket.
He said this is the first time KoCIDB, a society under the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB), is participating in the supply of workers to a construction company and hopes this will be a template for other companies to follow.
KoCIDB has credentials and experience in recruiting and training certified labour for the construction industry. It has the resources, expertise, efficient systems and capacity to recruit and manage labour, and coordinate work permit, medical and insurance requirements.
Source: TheSunDaily
wow ~
Anybody know from where to where?
click the picture and enlarge it
Gurney seaview destroy. Become highway already.
Click on the map lah…dont know how to read meh?@Linden
Gurney soon will have tunnel view. price increase further?
Need further info? Kindly click below official link.
www.zenithbucg.com
Just build it! The targeted completion date is 2025? It is too long….
Undersea tunnel is undersea. Not visible from surface. E.g Singapore MCE partial of it is undersea.
Imagine those super luxury condos previously have super sea view, now with a highway in front with traffic noise!
@Ah Dog
The girney drive condo sea view confirm will destroy. After build the highway, situation will be alike platino,vertiq,bayswater…this kind of situation.. Full of noise and traffic and hot..
Only you have tunnel view syndromme. How can you have a tunnel view if its underwater? @heng
I think it will really effected all the Gurney super condo because the sea views will became the highway view.
There will be no hi rise on the reclaimed land along Gurney Drive. So, the seaview is not affected. But no more seafront at door step.
This is a positive development, at least,
1. Gurney Drive is still there and to be added with the park.
2. Further development of STP2 to enhance it value.
3. Seaview is not affected for the high floor unit condo.
4. Mitigate traffic jam from Gurney to Bayan Lepas FTZ with the bypass.
The 1.7km Gurney Drive will sport a new, greener look under the proposed Seri Tanjung Pinang (STP) phase two reclamation project to be undertaken by Eastern and Oriental (E&O) Bhd.
It will incorporate some 20ha of greenery area including a new parkland, water features, a cycling route and palm-tree lined promenade.
There will also be a 400m-long bridge connecting Gurney Drive to a new 307ha man-made island to be developed in the same project.
The bridge will be close to a popular seafood restaurant near the Gurney Drive roundabout.
Penang Works, Utility and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the 53ha of land in Gurney Drive to be reclaimed by the group for the state government would mostly be used for recreation and not for commercial purposes.
“The seafront promenade will be wider and there will be more lanes on the road after the project.
“Now the road has three lanes. It will be extended to become nine to 10 lanes with parking space as well.
“Besides a new cycling route and jogging track, there may be a few eating outlets but there will be no high-rise buildings.
“This is the proposed concept. There may be changes but rest assured, the land will not be for commercial purposes,” he said when contacted yesterday.
On the portion of reclaimed land on Gurney Drive, 20.23ha will be government reserve land, 21ha for open spaces and buffer area, 6.87ha of land for the expressway and 4.85ha for amenities, utilities or infrastructure.
It will be fronting Gurney Reach, the new name for the seafront promenade on the man-made island to be created in the sea between Gurney Drive and Straits Quay in Tanjung Tokong.
On Saturday at a public dialogue in Straits Quay, E&O managing director Datuk Terry Tham had said Gurney Reach, which will complement Gurney Drive, would have open air cafes, restaurants and either an aquarium or a museum.
The dialogue was held with affected residents and relevant government agencies.
The aim was to obtain feedback on the project that will be incorporated into the detailed environmental impact assessment.
@Lim
highway is 100m away from gurney drive. soon i got to enjoy park view, sea view and tunnel view, 3X better..
what i like about this project is that it will only be ready by 2025.
Hence the cost locked in by the state at RM6.3 biliion made known to the public will remain the same even if inflation sets in over the duration of the next 12 years.
Besides that, the state is not coming up with cash to finance this project. Instead, land swap deals are being made in return for the tunnel. Some of it are still yet to be reclaimed by E&O.
This would put our balance sheet at an advantage and this will allow more room for growth in the future for Penang.
@What i Like about this project
Don’t be naive lah…hahaha….lock in cost even with inflation? You think the main contractor is going to continue building the tunnel at a loss? Where would the money come from? His grandfather? His own pocket? You think any banks would be willing to finance a loss making project? How can anyone continue to build anything without enough money? The state can sue them, surely, but so what? So more money, sue lor! At the end of it, the cost will find it’s way back to the people of penang. Trust me….:)
Well, of course, a big mistake has been made, contract has been signed and awarded. Pretty much nothing can be done now except to let it slowly happen before people realize it is a big mistake.
Well, when you screw up on “one-way” traffic flow in Pulau Tikus, you can start to have “dialogues” with the people, hear them, pacify them, and hopefully the anger will go away.
When you screw up on parking coupons, you can immediately offer free parking, offer them some freebies to pacify the people, and hopefully they will forget the whole episode.
But let me tell you this, when we realize we have screwed up on this tunnel, it would have already had a much much bigger and deeper negative impact to our way of life permanantly.
@GongKia
I wonder how could quantify mistake when nothing has been built at this moment? By just looking at one-way traffic in pulau tikus or looking at car park coupon? Get your fact right in supporting your comment, rather than flushing out your fortune teller type of conclusion.
What are you talking about ? The parking coupons system should have been
implemented long time ago. Let me tell you this, we are not screwing up on
anything especially this tunnel.
@X Man
Complain King, got free parking still wan to complain… cannot understand you laaa…
Because of all the reclaimed land activities going on along tanjung tokong and glugor area , the Penang Port has a shallow draught depth now due to severe siltation problem which has caused larger ships to bypass penang port and instead sail to other ports such as Port Klang and the Tanjung Pelepas port in Johor…… Businesses in the northern region will suffer maaa if this continue to happen !!
If you muddle with the seabed further by building a tunnel under the sea , where do you think all the silt gonna go ?
When larger vessels bypass penang port , it will have a serious impact on manufacturers and cross-border businesses due to the escalating cost of shipping and doing business. It incurs an additional cost because of the transportation of the goods from other ports to the northern region. There is also the delay because of the longer time it takes for the transportation of goods.
There will be no more penang port in the future and all the factories will move to selangor and johor . Penang will no more become business hub laa , just silt and silt all around .
Do not dream more about this project
Couldn’t agree more. Well said!