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| Penang govt seeks feedback on elevated highway |
| Written by Regina William | |||
| Friday, 15 May 2009 15:38 | |||
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Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the federal government has asked for the state government's views on the implementation of the project, which has been mired with problems since it was first proposed in 1997. Lim said the state government received a letter in March from the then Minister in the Prime Minister's department Tan Sri Amirsham A Aziz. In the letter released to the media, it was stated that the economic planning units of the Prime Minister's department had received a proposal from Daya Aliran Inovasi Sdn Bhd which is keen to take over the project from the first contractor Peninsular Metro-Works Sdn Bhd (PMWSB). PMWSB was given a letter of intent by the state government but it was later revoked. The project was initially supposed to take off in 1997, but was shelved due to the 1997/1998 global economic crisis and PMWSB's failure to obtain financial aid to carry out the project. Then, former prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi announced in the 2008 Budget that the project would take off, only to postpone again its implementation in April 2008 during the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, due to the onset of the global economic and fuel price crisis. Lim said the state government has been asked to make its recommendations, feedback and agreement for the project to proceed based on perimeters identified by the federal government: — determine the cost of the project which will be tendered out, — determine the toll rates in tandem with traffic volume, — the risks on the investments will be born by the company and financiers, and — the state government will allow reclamation of land to enable the project to take off. "I am inviting Penangites to give us their views on the pros and cons of allowing this project to proceed. "If they are against this project, then they should suggest alternative proposals on how to solve the traffic congestion which is worsening on the island. "The state government will gauge the responses made by Penangites before we submit our views and feedback on this to the federal government, either for or against the project," he added. The PORR project had been a thorn in the side for the previous Gerakan-led state government with many non-governmental organisations raising their objections on the implementation of the project. While the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) planned around the same time as PORR has been completed and already in use for several years now, PORR's fate has been hanging in the balance. PORR was to connect Gelugor in the south, near Penang Bridge to Tanjung Bungah in the north. After a mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the project, together with Penang Monorail, were postponed indefinitely. The concession was awarded to PMWSB, a company formed in 1996 but the company was not able to get the project off the ground. PMWSB was formed by Nadi Senandung Sdn Bhd (55%), Yayasan Bumiputera Pulau Pinang Bhd (35%) and an individual. It was reported in early May 2007 that Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MRCB) will become the lead shareholder of the company and will start the construction of the road but nothing has materialised to date. About 60% of the 17-kilometre highway was to be elevated and the development cost was expected to be RM1.02 billion.
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