Penang Tunnel road projects face further delay
The three paired roads proposed as part of the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project could be delayed further due to land and environmental assessment issues, said state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng.
“This package was supposed to start first but we found that the lands that was previously acquired by the federal government for the PORR project still belonged to the federal government,” the public works and utilities committee chairman said.
The PORR was the Penang Outer Ring Road project that was proposed by the previous Barisan Nasional state government and later cancelled after they lost in Election 2008.
He said the state government will need to seek approval from the federal government to use the affected land before work for the so-called Package Two — paired roads connecting the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway to Air Itam — can start.
Lim said that Penang will proceed with Package One — phase one to connect Tanjung Bungah to Batu Ferringhi and second phase to connect Batu Ferringhi to Teluk Bahang — in the meantime.
He said Consortium Zenith BUCG, the company undertaking the massive undersea tunnel and paired roads project, will identify the land needed and inform the state for acquistion.
“This section involves private land so we can acquire it, unlike federal government-owned land which we can’t acquire,” he said.
But he said Package One will also need a detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) from the Department of Environment before they can commence work on the project, compared to the preliminary report as previously required.
The three paired roads project are supposed to be carried out in stages between this year to 2025.
The third package is to connect Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and it will be the last package to be constructed.
On whether the delay in implementing the projects could raise costs, Lim said the costs of construction for the paired roads were already fixed according to the tender agreement with Consortium Zenith BUCG.
“However, we won’t know about the land costs, as we needed to acquire land, so if land prices were to increase, this means the costs of acquiring lands for the project might increase,” he said.
The proposed undersea tunnel is a 7.2km link between Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam in north Seberang Perai and the three paired roads were to disperse traffic in the areas and to link to the undersea tunnel.
Meanwhile, a public briefing on Package One of the paired roads, the one from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, will be held on this Saturday evening at the Tanjung Bungah market complex to explain the details of the project to local residents.
Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said his office will also conduct a survey to gather public opinion on the project.
“The paired road is a needed infrastructure project that will benefit the public but I am certain that by engaging the residents in the whole process, there will be a better understanding of the project,” he said in another press conference this morning.
Other than the upcoming briefing, Teh said there will also be more meetings in the form of dialogues with residents in future.
Read Source: TheMalayMailOnline.com
With the collapse of the Batu Ferringhi road, can’t they see the urgency of the alternative paired road? It does seem that many parts of the narrow Batu Ferringhi road are also not safe now, so just wait for more incidents to happen there!!??
@Kenny
Can’t get started,no money lah!
When we all see the ringgit at this horrendous state,very soon the China contractor will withdraw from the deal lah!!! So just keep waiting…….
@Chowchow
No money? Then don’t simply promise lah!
Don’t keep creating false alarm or false news also lah!
Forget Batu Feringghi. Forget Tanjong Bungha. George Town and Bayan Baru are the new growth areas. Nobody wants to go up there anymore. Nothing there. Dirty beach!
The existing winding Batu Ferringhi road is potentially a death trap. The paired road is badly needed.
Those affected by the land acquisition for the pair roads better be ready to fight like hell or else be ready to lose your properties!
China fellas already pulled out leaving Zenith BUCG and Ewein. These local jokers where got money to build? NOw looking for funding lah. Supposed to start in June this year . Now coming to year end liao.
@Messi
China fellas pulling out is good for Penang. This tunnel is not needed anyway, and the china fellas were not going to “give” you the money for free, they just loan it to you now, will have to be paid back by our next generation.
China fellas just bag the bigger and more profitable rail project worth RM55bil. Worried Malaysia will end up like Greek.
Part of the deal was for the paired road to be built by Zenith. now with china having pulled out there is no more benefit for zenith so whos gonna fund the road? Habis liao la. Lets see how they wriggle themselves out
@Donald Trump
It’s better not to have the roads anyway, they should just leave Batu Feringghi as it is, don’t go and spoil the charm.
@ouch!
Aiyoyo,very soon those who’re living in Teluk Bahang will have no road transports at all when that narrow road keeps collapsing? Don’t be so black-hearted lah!
This is a joke, isn’t it? They can’t even get it right to build the Air Itam to LCE bypass. This phase I supposed to start in June. After years of planning, they only realized now the Federal government owns the land for the bypass. WTF? If they can’t even get one simple bypass to be build timely, how are they supposed to implement the monstrous PTMP project?
The roads are much needed for the residents there> i have friends staying in Telu Bahang and with the road collapse, he now has to travel via balik pulau to get to work in town everyday. The biggest issue now is how the state is going to find funders for the roads. to kick start the roads at least a few hundred million are needed. Arabs also running out of cash. who else ???? I’d blame the state govt for picking the wrong partners for this project.
All this talk about lands still belonging to federal govt are all delaying tactics to find money and in the course of it trying to blame the Federal Govt if the project fails. ALL ONE BIG WAYANG KULIT and after thoughts.
@Donald Trump
China Railway is still the contracted partner of Zenith but then, Penang govt cannot get in time of the Gurney Wharf reclamation’s piece of land to pay them yet(in kind). Hence equal to “no money no talk” lo!
Penang go back to BN next election! Everything solved! Yea!
@Donald Trump
(1) Batu Feringghi is not the right place for mass housing development in the first place. Good to maintain it as tourist spot, but not residential. We have been living happily with that small road for many many donkey years, of course some minor road interruptions here and there from time to time, but if it’s not a mass residential area, that does not matter, people can live with that. Only when it becomes a high dense residential area that we can’t tolerate this type of minor interruptions.
(2) There is no need to find funders for the new road. IT IS NOT NEEDED ANYWAY!!
@Getha
I wouldn’t risk Penang’s future with those few BN monkeys in Penang right now. Well, I won’t mind if a few more seats fall into the hands of BN, but definitely BN does not have any talents to run Penang now, not to say that the DAP folks are talented though.!!..Haha.
@ouch!
BF is already a township of its own now and as population grows we cannot undo what has been done. And with the state approving more development there, the only way to sustain population is to create alternative routes. I cannot agree with your view that “we have been living happily with that small road”. I think the only people who can answer those questions are the residents who actually live there. Perhaps you might be one but no one view should represent everyone. But i can tell you for sure that my friends who live in teluk bahang are not very happy having to travel half an island to get to work for the past 2 weeks.
My only grouse against the state government is having picked the wrong partners in order to realise the plans for the roads and are now looking for excuses to delay the construction. Clearly they had not carefully vetted the tender papers when awarding the tender. They placed too much reliance on the chinese that they likely omitted to consider whether their local partners possess the capacity to complete their obligations should the chinese pull out. not many players in this country have the capacity to complete projects of this magnitude. The state should have considered players liek Gamuda and IJM. These are players who possess the financial capacity to complete such projects rather than a company who has zero track record in development and the construction industry.
@Getha
This will be the Federal Govt’s political pledge to penang if the state cannot find funders to construct the roads. Whether or not we can trust the Federal Govt is another story
@Donald Trump
When your friend bought his/her house there, was there any expressway? Nope. So the house was bought/inherited under the condition that there is only one small road going up there. So just because he suddenly realize that traffic is getting a little bit heavier (that’s the only thing that changed since last time), he wants the gov to build an expressway for him???? Have you any idea how much negative impact would deforestation bring to our environment?? If he thinks teluk bahang is so far, move to somewhere nearer lah! Why need expressway????? If someone thinks Penanghill is too inconvenient to live in, don’t stay there lah, you don’t ask people to send helicopter up there everyday to fetch you right????
Sure, this is only my view. But be aware that a survey was done recently in the Batu Feringghi neighbourhood, and a lot of them are against clearing the forest to build expressway!!! You take note lah ah!
Are they saying they tendered out a multi billion ringgit project to the company, but they didn’t even know the land that the project was supposed to be built on didn’t belong to them? If so, how accurate and correct are their cost estimates and planning? How accurate are their costs estimates and planning for other major projects like the Penang Transport Master Plan then?
I heard that alternative road to Teluk Bahang was long gazetted long ago during British time, and it was neglected during Dr.Koh’s tenure even when a federal allocation was granted! Surprise?
@ Kta, Admore
Have you guys not realized that most people in Penang are sick with all these political accusations?? Whether it’s chicken koh’s fault, or tkong Lim’s fault, that’s already irrelevant. What the people want to hear is, WHAT CAN BE DONE TO MAKE THE PEOPLE’S LIFE BETTER MOVING FORWARD? As far as the expressway going up to teluk bahang is concerned, it’s bad for the environment and it’s bad for the people’s pocket. Good for nothing. That’s it. Scrap it, by all means.
@ouch!
It is a much needed road. I as a Penangite fully support the construction of that road. Besides, it is already 50% constructed, just need to pair the links and it will be ready to use. I bet you didn’t know that. As usual all the environmentalist are the loudest but they don’t do their homework.
@Player’s daddy
Hahahahaha. Have to agree with you especially with the last sentence.
@ouch!
Your views ring of utter selfishness and fully in denial of realities. Reality means population WILL GROW. By your opinion you’re actually saying that if population grows in teluk bahang everyone should move away to town if they dislike the traffic. And if a road cracks along the way residents there must be happy to travel half an island to work? How ridiculous is that? You simply think it is simple for anyone to uproot themselves from a familiar surrounding, pack their bags and leave? Dont they have financial constraints to consider? Traffic and vehicle flow will increase in tandem with population growth. It is inevitable. Infrastructure to support growth is needed anywhere in the world . Again this is inevitable. This is what the state is trying to do, to create alternative routes TO MAKE PEOPLES LIFE BETTER MOVING FORWARD (to quote you).
And please lah dont exaggerate the issue by asking for helicopters to be delivered etc etc. Youre sound really ridiculous and childish making those statements.
In BN we trust. Hidup Pulau Pinang! With the L*m joker as good as gobe by next year, there are no more leaders. L*m gobe, the others running the state will be running around like headless chiclen!
@Donald Trump
Well, I am not exaggerating really. Exaggeration came from Player’s Daddy when he said 50% of the road is already constructed. I take it as he is accusing the current contractor of working in cahoots with the state to siphon money out by over charging the people for 50% of the remaining road. But really, the stretch from behind Leader Garden to Twin Towers can hardly measure up to 50% of the road…;)
Anyway, I agree with you that “Reality means population WILL GROW”, but if the state had done a good job in PLANNING, then they would have controlled where population should and should not grow by carefully implementing social engineering. Again, let’s not go back to DAP, Gerakan etc and all that politics crap, as we are all seriously sick of all that.
@Getha
NO politicians are saints. It is always a choice of the lesser evil. I still choose DAP over BN
Ha ha ha…still hoodwinked by L*m and co? Ha ha ha…. so silly
@ouch!
What about the roads at Permai Gardens that is ready. What is left is to finish off the link at Chin Peng farm at Batu Ferringhi and connect the links. Stop being an armchair critic if you can’t contribute anything much. The expressway acts as an alternative route to Batu Ferringhi. I live in Batu Ferringhi and sometimes it takes an hour or more to get back home from Tg Bungah.
@Getha
Still hoodwinked by jibby and his billions? Hypocrite at most.
BN is still the best bet for Penang. two terms for D*P and see the destruction and mess. L*m and co are just clowns in suits. They will not last. Penang will return to BN in the next GE
@sham
Im Muslim but i feel Penang is much more develope and live in peace in Penang rather than Kelantan and Terrengganu…….
Sham shame on you…..