More Penangites air worries over sea tunnel project : Proposed third link continues to draw flak
BUTTERWORTH: Penangites continue to raise concerns that the proposed undersea tunnel project will have a negative impact on their lives,
During a dialogue with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, environmental consultant Abdul Wahid Ghazali suggested a risk assessment study for the project, looking into possible effects caused by earthquakes and tremors in the neighbouring region.
“Although Penang is not located within the earthquake ring of fissures, we do get some indirect effects from Sumatran quakes measuring more than 6.0 on the Richter scale.
“Therefore, a detailed geological study should ideally be carried out for the proposed tunnel,” the former Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Environment Management and Planning Department lecturer said.
Abdul Wahid said whether the project would directly affect fishermen in Gurney Drive and Bagan Ajam could only be known once the tunnel’s exact alignment was identified through a feasibility study.
“At the moment, only the tunnel’s corridors have been identified, and not the entire alignment, so we do not know if would affect any fishing site.
“If both ends of the tunnel affect the mooring of fishing boats, then perhaps appropriate fish landing sites should be rebuilt nearby as replacements,” he said at Dewan Besar Sungai Dua here yesterday.
Local resident Abu Osman Abu Hassan asked if residents living along the coastline in Bagan Ajam would have to make way for the project, to which Lim replied that it would not affect any residential units.
Kepala Batas-born Khairil Irfan Othman, who now works in Kuala Lumpur, called on Lim to ensure property prices in his Penaga hometown would not skyrocket once the tunnel project came up.
“I am sad that my hometown Penaga is still quite backward. And, if the property prices shoot up, the low and mid-income earners here will suffer further,” he said.
Lim replied that the state might introduce an affordable housing scheme in north Seberang Prai, similar to the one in Batu Kawan, south Seberang Prai.
Hooi Peng Kwan, a former hotel chef, asked about the maintenance of the tunnel during and after the 30-year concession period, to which Lim said the concession holder would handle it throughout the concession period, after which, the state would take over.
Another resident, Sree, asked if the Pantai Bersih beach and recreation area in Bagan Ajam would be affected by the tunnel project.
Lim replied that the state would ensure the beach remained a public property and not ‘privatised’ to a third party.
Source: StarProperty.my
Wow, first to comment.
“More Penangites air worries….”, as usual, the media hiding the fact… Why the media not mention anything on 90% of people support this?
Near election time. Lackey newspaper working overtime. What you expect.
Hi KKK,
What makes you think that 90% of people support this? Have you done a survey?…:)
@condomana
The State Government should launch a White Paper on this and then everyone can see for themselves…..
@condomana
one thing I know for sure is that you are very good at complaining about foreigners, ,progress, development and etc. My advise if you have nothing good to say it is best to not say it at all.
Look at New jersey and New york they have have a sea tunnel as well.
@condomana
if you are not happy with progress and property prices on this island you can always consider the mainland but yoy bought the brezza right when it is compleyed, so stop being a hypocrite.
Guys, condomana is just expressing his opinion. He did not mention he didn’t like living in Penang. He also did not complain about property prices over here. While we may believe that majority of the people support the sea tunnel project, but if there has been no survey done on this, how can we know for sure it’s “90%”?
I personally believe the sea tunnel is a good idea as part of the overall traffic alleviation package along with highways on the island, but certainly would not say 90% of the people support it without statistical evidence.
3 bridge, and 1 terminal ferry port just to come into this small island, izzit too much? Is there any ROI by building the 3rd link. Would it be better if they use the money for MRT project instead of building the 3rd link. Is it better if government build more flyover road or expand 2 lanes road to 3 lanes road in penang island, is it better for government to build more public multi-storey car park with cheaper rate to lessen the traffic woo in the island rather than increasing the traffic in the island with 3rd link. I do not see any benefit from building this bridge Mr. Chief Minister.
@GG
I don’t think we should put profitability as 1st priority for infrastructure project. The purpose of the tunnel is to reduce congestion by diverting some traffic away from using Greenlane and Georgetown.
Hi Reggie,
Thanks for the rescue…:).. Just when I thought I have only made enemies here saying what in my opinion I think is best for Penang, you have come at the perfect timing!
@Dr
Why we do not solve the traffic problem in penang itself instead we worry on the traffic brought in by mainland? Izzit better if we can build more flyover road in penang or build MRT in penang to lessen the traffic instead of this 3rd bridge? How many % of traffic will be lessen with the 3rd bridge and how many traffic was contributed by mainland people? People can still use the 3rd bridge and still go to bayan lepas area passing thru the georgetown or greenlane right and vice versa, how sure are we this is benefit and is not redundant thing? If build flyover and MRT, i can feel the % of traffic lessen is more than 3rd bridge right.
@GG, Y u say not benefit for third lane ?
I’m represent those stay either in northern region in PG or mainland but everyday have to cross this fxxx bridge that jam & long distance to reach north again. I have to spend extra $ & time to make a big U shape turning from Bajan Ajam to Tanjong Tokong.
If we have the under sea tunnel like HK, i just spend 30mins to reach there. Long term who have to pay me back the petrol, toll, time & can maintainance ?
Pls think for overall firs then speak to public GG.
The undersea tunnel is an exciting project. But if to choose between MRT & sea tunnel, I’ll vote for MRT. If MRT is properly planned in Pg island (not like building a station in no-man-land) and connecting areas along Bayan Lepas, Sg Ara, Jelutong, Air Itam, Georgetown, Gurney, Tj Bungah, we can imagine how much traffic can be reduced, esp during working peak hours. Of course we need a lot of MRT tunnel in Georgetown area.
@GG
Of course we can use the tunnel to go to Bayan Lepas from mainland. But we prefer to use the bridge instead. We will use tunnel if we are going to Gurney or Georgetown. Until now, I still can’t imagine how the MRT will help me to get to Gurney from Seberang Prai, without passing through the congested greenlane every morning.
Just hold a referendum and publish a White Paper on this matter and please close it once and for all….. too much time and manipulated by politics……lets concentrate on developing our beloved island and hope that property prices, especially landed houses, continue its great upward trend……
@Dr
There will be biggest mall in northern region build in Prai soon. You don’t need to come to Gurney to add to the traffic congestion at island here.. MRT is for those stay on island, not Prai.
Better build it now or never. You won’t get the similar package with only 6.3B. The 2nd link alone is already reaching 4.3B as per the update ~2 years ago. I think this is a good move by Pg gov.
MRT/ LRT/ Monorai:
– I think is the building, plus maintenance and operating cost could be higher than the tunnel. Just like your house and car, house is more expensive but lower maintenance, and car is cheaper (no those buying more expensive cases) but maintenance is higher.
– Threaten to the heritage status if built in Georgetown area. I think the news was there a few years ago. That time, tram was nominated to replace monorail.
– Must work together with the efficient bus and taxi networking, and the good pedestrian way. Otherwise, nobody would want to take the ride.
– It is a public transportation system that under federal gov authority.
And I believe, majorities ppl in Malaysia have a car, and will not use MRT/ LRT/ monorail for daily routine, except special event days like new year celebration.
And since majorities having a car, the tunnel is a more direct way to improve the traffic flow, with the help of the other 4 highway in the pipeline.
Of course, with the tunnel and 4 highway projects, other road expansion and flyover work also should be on going.
Guys, we need to make a move anyway and let the Pg gov play their role. Btw, the money is from E&O reclamation land. It is a very good use of the money rather than selling it at RM1 per square feet in many cases in Pg history.
So you were saying all of us using the tunnel is going to Gurney Plaza?
We need tunnel to improve the Connectivity in between island and mainland,
We need MRT too for island itself, hopefully the Traffic Improvement Plan will include the MRT connection in between mainland and island.
MRT costs a lot to build n maintain also need costs…. The num of population is enough to support the system? Basically bus is still a workable option to get ppl to take public transportation. Maybe improve bus services by loses n then later up petrol price or up car taxes … Or let jam like hell until ppl start realise oh take bus better….
Why are we suddenly talking about MRT? We will never need MRT in Penang as our population would not reach the justification point for another 30 years to come. A monorail would be more suitable option, as it is actually an ELECTRIC BUS system running on elevated track (avoiding all traffic jam and therefore able to move more people than buses during peak hours). The fairly simple elevated track allows monorail to be built without major tunneling works, therefore much less costly than building MRT. Tram/monorail/bus could be integrated to fulfill heritage site requirements.
Hi Bryan,
You are right, car ownership is very high in Msia. That’s because public transport sucks. The current state gov has TRIPLED plot ratio state wide. That means household DENSITY would be three times more than before (especially dense for town centres). If we build more roads to make car travelling convenient, it would surely get filled up very soon. Furthermore, we are planning for transportation for the next 20 years now. Why worry about the majority who own cars now?? How many years do you drive the same cars for nowadays? We should start to plan to change our old habits of driving from door to door. Hey guys, we’re penangites! We’re the first to start plastic bag free law! Why stop there? We can be the greenest and leanest state for transportation!
How to build public transport taking habit?
Yeah!! right on GG. Who gives a flying TURD about the mainland right????! All Those kampung people and foreign workers and “MAINLAND TRAFFIC” (?!?) need to be kept out of the island right ???! Build flyovers and MRT for the island ! Screw the mainland ! Yeah!! GG here is a real typical “penang islander”
YEAH ! I agree GG ! Actually island people don’t have to leave the island one ! “Self contained utopia” ! So no need this tunnel what ! All those people “over there” …HUH can’t afford to buy “over here” then just got to suffer lah! This island “members only”! Build MRT for exclusive island use better what ! Why want to make it easier for all those mainland cars to get across here and jam up the roads right? Could anyone get more SELFISH???
talking about ROI
1) New industrial Zone can be created in Tasek Gelugor, Bertam etc, jobs creation as a result
2) state able to get more money from land conversion, mostly from agricultural land to residential, commercial in SPU
3) when more people resides, local government able to get tax for their coffers
4) after 30 years the state gets to keep the toll charges
5) there is possibility that new Tanjung Pinang land can be a financial district such as hong kong island if there is a tunnel connection
6) new tourist spots can be created such as making raja uda the chinatown of penang
Hi ABCD,
I quote your ROI talk –
“1) New industrial Zone can be created in Tasek Gelugor, Bertam etc, jobs creation as a result” – creating new industrial zone should be in the bottom of the priority list as we should move away from factory jobs which can be easily taken away by cheap labour in another country. We should be happy if we can replace current factory jobs with high tech high skill jobs.
” 2) state able to get more money from land conversion, mostly from agricultural land to residential, commercial in SPU” – well this I agree with you….:D
“3) when more people resides, local government able to get tax for their coffers” – ok. more money for the state gov….:D
“4) after 30 years the state gets to keep the toll charges” – MORE money for the state gov.
“5) there is possibility that new Tanjung Pinang land can be a financial district such as hong kong island if there is a tunnel connection” – huh!?..financial district due to the tunnel? you mean a financial district for SPU people to come and bank in their cheques and draw money from ATMs?….:DD
“6) new tourist spots can be created such as making raja uda the chinatown of penang” – you mean the tourists will come to see how rival gangsters gun down each other in raja uda?
Hi peter,
I suggest we use the money for the sea tunnel to build a land tunnel through the hills from balik pulau to georgetown. What do you think?
Ya condom, we should have sea tunnel, hill tunnel, MRT, Wider Road and many more to improve the traffic!
I heard this project was proposed a few few few years ago but 90% of people object, now this project become reality and 90% of people support. Maybe the atmosphere has changed
Those object this project still live in the 50 years back mindset…..when the first bridge to be built in 1985, there were many objections too, 2nd bridge, also same, many objections….there are some people can success very well, but many still failed in their life, as they behave passively, and object those projects can bring growth.
@condomana
Hi Condomana
i thought you are a smart guy, able to see the point without further explanation needed
point 1 : industrial doesn’t mean low tech factory jobs, can be aerospace, ICT & future technologies
point 5 : look at hong kong in 60s, GDP still low, cross channel tunnel opens in 1972 and it reinvent itself to be financial centre, the rest is history, Penang can do the same too
point 6 : raja uda is different today, pls show some newpaper link that rival gangster gunning each other? just need cosmetic change , it already has the culture, food & population to be chinatown
Penang state not just only Island…
more link between Island and mainland is good to accelerate the mainland develop progress.
in fact if mainland is developed, we all have more choice more place can consider to stay in.
not everything must pack in clouded small island and everyday complaint traffic condition is bad, properties price is too high…
3rd link is a must, i pass by the bridge almost everyday from Monday to Friday and then weekend again. Lately, the congestion on the 1st bridge is back and its even worst. With the current growing and young population, people in malaysia will never stop buying car. To all those wannabe economist like condomana, gg, Setia Green and many more. Mayb you could enlighten me a little with your research on how many bridges we need with the current pace of car owner from mainlander and islander alone. Then another research which shown how many outstation visiting from outstation. U guys are really like katak di bawah tempurung which has no brainer.
Remember, people in malaysia will never stop buying car unless there is measure from the government unlike Singapore.
@Ant-i
Well said, those economist wannabes will be never feel the pain of daily commuter..
cONDOM-MANA, what if we built a tunner under your area connecting you from balik pulau to georgetown. Seriously, your mind here is very shallow and i assume u are from balik pulau. Your statement disclose from where you are from. You stay so far far away, mayb you are just not updated, cant blame you. U are from the other side of PULAU.
I support sea tunnel , we ‘ve to be far sighted and prepare for our needs in next 5-10 yrs . By the time the tunnel project completed , it will be just nice as it will take a no of yrs to complete for this mega project .
why need tunnel when you can take ferry from there ? must be kang tao project benefit certain party lo
The tunnel will only be completed in 2025, 12 years from now if no delay. It is good to start it right now than only feel the need 5 years later. Then we will only get the tunnel in 2030.
Please try a trip with ferry and imagine you do this twice per day x 200+ working days in a year.
Very well said, u never try u will never know. Once you try everyday u tak mau..
Hi ABCD,
I’m glad you asked for the newspaper link for Point 6 :-
http://www.asianewsnet.net/news-30590.html
http://www.theborneopost.com/2013/01/25/nightclub-bouncer-shot-dead-in-butterworth/
Those are events for the last few months. There are lots more if you’re talking about a 1-year time frame….:)…Their favourite strike time is around 1am when you’re having supper at the coffee shop with your girlfriend….:D
Hi Ant-i,
I’m not from balik pulau lah but I think your statement disclose you are very shallow lah. Oh why? You think SPU people need tunner, but balik pulau people dun deserve tunner is it!!….:D
Hi Ant-i,
Since when people in Spore stopped buying cars??….:D….wah then all their tunners must be empty loh by now?
Hi Bryan,
With the tunner, developers will build more houses in SPU, and it won’t take long before the tunner become congested again…:)
Ant-I, looks like you are from SPU!!
condomana, I like the idea of tunnel to balik pulau too.. big piece of gems. no need to keep reclaiming land and end up change the unique shape of turtle. But the problem is with the people from balik pulau anti development…
That will be great. Then we need 4th, 5th or maybe 6th link when that happen. I call this development. So, this is the right timing we start the 3rd link.
@Ant-i
You think Singaporeans like dun want car… you must be joking…. all of us want cars no matter how good the transport system is BUT the government here make it too expensive….who wants to lug groceries all the way on a bus and MRT…. crazy….no car = no way to impress girlfriend….. car = place to make out……just look at east coast park every night … all the cars parked in a row… lost of extra marital affairs… cheating on spouses…. cleaners complain of litter in the morning….. Malaysian rubber…….. so… dun talk about us Singaporeans not wanting cars…. we WANT cars too… who cares about MRT and Buses….. they CANNOT replace private vehicles…. NO WAY…….
Hi peter, balik pulau people have been swinging in trees for so long. SPU people at least have ferry + 2 x bridges. Let them have the tunner lah!….cannot meh?? Why? You more selfish then GG leh!!
One of the unique features of the monorail is it can actually turn tight corners, therefore making it suitable for cities with narrow roads.
For penang, it will be phenomenal if we install the monorail along the batu ferringgi coast connecting batu feringgi town to georgetown, allowing a fast traffic-free and scenic traveling between those places. Why build roads to batu feringgi to encourage more car ownership???
I think your proposal for Batu Ferringgi to Georgetown is of lower priority that third link from Seberang Prai to island north. Penangites don’t go to BF everyday I guess, more so from Georgetown only. Public transport should connect residential area to business centre or workplace.
Yes. Tunnel to Balik Pulau should be the next. Btw, Balik Pulau is having 3 connection roads to east side of the island. And my friends who traveling daily from Balike Pulau, still claiming they can reach FIZ within 25 mins. I guess the traffic not that bad at current.
My children will thank me, for my support to develop the 3rd link to make their life easier!
Hi penangite,
You are absolutely right! What we do and decide today will have a bigger impact on our children than ourselves. We should consider carefully the pros and cons of each option. As for me, I think my children will thank me for my support to a greener and less congested state.
How tunnel will make penang more congested? I think it will make penang less congested and greener.
Ai… Tunnel, monorai, tram etc good. More important is get more investment into the state… Dun care is education, factory, services… No work or industry having more tunnel also useless…..
Hi Dr,
You guess Penangites don’t go to BF everyday? Why is the state gov proposing to build an expressway to BF than?..:)
@condomana
Because the road to batu ferringgi is narrow and winding.. dont you think resident or tourist to teluk bahang and batu ferringgi deserve a safer road?
Monorail to Batu ferringgi totally does not make sense at all with such low population density there. Monorail should start from air itam to georgetown first..
I guess the monorail is of lower priority compare to expressway, even when we talk about connecting Georgetown to BF.
If this success more traffic will come from 3rd link, 2nd link, 1st link flow into penang, next time people will start complaint why penang island so many cars. Now you think it is convenient for people to go in and out of penang and no need jam in penang 1st bridge, so siok siok come in then go back mainland. In the end, ppl will start complaint again, why no parking space, why so jam in penang. If 2nd bridge you all think cannot ease the traffic on 1st bridge why want to build it in the 1st place? And now come the 3rd bridge and everyone say will lessen the traffic on 1st bridge. What the heck is 2nd bridge for?
@GG
The 2nd bridge is there, not because of the needs.
Anyway, stopping ppl from coming in almost equal to stopping the development on island. You just need to juggling between the 2.
Hi Bryan,
I dunno about south and balik pulau lah. But for the north line, it would be nice to have the interchange at gurney drive, then 1st stop up would be fettes park, then straits quay, then flamingo hotel, then floating mosque, then miami bay, then rasa sayang, then teluk bahang, then Escape….:) That would be nice, wouldn’t it?…:)
Build flyover road, can solve a lot problem… In others country you can see they got 3 – 4 level of flyover road…
@AES
Hopefully PG doesn’t need to resort to that method and become a city full of concrete ….
Perhaps we could learn from other like San Francisco, there are many bridges and cars going in and out. Somehow, within the city center, the traffic is not as bad as PG. My guess is:
1. more access road to diverge some traffic
2. wider lanes
3. very high parking fees + limited time (could be as short as 10 mins)
4. more tourist attractions rather than 1 or 2 hot spots
5. good public transport
6. park n ride
Putting environment damage, maintenance etc aside, I think having the link is definitely good. The government should probably also start thinking about #4 above. E.g. develop beaches along TK to Gertak Sangkut area, then build a better access road to link to Tanjung Tokong.
So far, many mindset has too one-sided -> i.e. travel, leisure means going to town. Can blame them since this is coz by the unbalanced development.
I support the undersea tunnel project.What all the fuss about.Well,we have to move,plan and look forward to the future.It will definitely bring more benefits & advantages to the people of Penang so long as it’s been well planned and constructed and does not affect the nature & environmental issues,why not?Remember when the Island’s first bridge was built,to many,it’s a dream come true,isn’t it?So now for this future sea tunnel,Fantastic & Excellent is the word.Just go for it………(Penang will be well known internationally)
Although I support the current state government, I think the 3rd link is not really needed in the foreseable future. The amount of traffic volumn crossing between Penang island and mainland is pretty much the same regardless of whether the 3rd link is built or not.
Lets say 120,000 people (example only) cross over from one side to the other on a daily basis, with the 2nd bridge ready, it should help to divert 30% – 50% of the traffic to use the 2nd bridge, meaning that 60,000 – 84,000 people are going to use the 1st bridge while the rest use 2nd bridge. With 3rd link, it will just help to reduce the number of people using the 1st and 2nd bridge, but will not help to ease the traffic congestion in the city itself. People will still go to their destination regardless of 1st, 2nd or 3rd link used, and that’s where the traffic jam will occur.
Penang Bridge S/B (1st bridge) is very profitable. With the built of 2nd bridge, I guess both will still remain profitable albeit at much reduced profit. If 3rd link is built, it will at most attract 1/3 of the travellers, and the viability of it (in terms of getting enough profit to sustain & maintain) will become a question.
Is better to use the money to relocate and build new Penang Airport at South of Seberang Perai. The current airport in the Island is not suitable for long term, cannot expand to built more runaway or terminal.
Penang International Airport serve passengers from Penang,Kedah,Perlis and northern Perak. We no need everybody to cross to the Island just to get to the airport. With this, we can reduce traffic as well.
@Johnny
Although the traffic volume across all the bridge might be the same (actually will be increased from year to year), it help ppl to go their destination straight. Ppl stay in Raja Uda no need to use the Seberang Prai roundabout, to 1st bridge, to Tun Lim express (and maybe greenlane), to Pulau Tikus for work. Ppl from Pulau Tikus also no need to use the same route to go SPU or northern state. This will definitely reduce the traffic flow on the Seberang Prai roundabout and Tun Lim Express (maybe Greenlane area).
Here,we’re talking about 12 to 15 years from now,whats going to happen.Penang in future will become an Intelligent City and of course we need this tunnel.More options for everyone especially travelling outstation and I believed most Penangites prefer to use their own transportation than use public transport.New car sales increased every year.I am very proud of present government achievement start planning now for our future generation.The two bridges are quite close to each other whereas people staying in Tg.Bungah,Pulau Tikus or town area will have to travel all the way to the other side should you want to drive across.I remembered last time the second link was supposed to start from Tg.Tokong area to the other side but it was not to be.I just hope to see this tunnel in future.
We need both! MRT and the tunnel. I’m getting tired of being stuck in traffic.
Ya as population grow we need bigger air port the best is some where at seberang prai tengah,
Come together with LRT express
@tlder
Future? Another 20 years perhaps judging from all the flak this project is attracting…..
Hi tlder,
If we want to have an intelligent city, we should definitely do away with more roads and more cars. Public transport (especially green public transport like a monorail) is the way to go. The state has tripled the allowable plot ratio in Penang, therefore theoretically tripling the population density as well. If we don’t build monorail but just rely on cars, just imagine, you would end up having three times more cars on the road in 10-15 years time.
For those staying in Light linear/bayswater area, can you imagine 3 times more cars? The noise and pollution is already driving you nuts right now. Can you imagine 3 times more cars on Burma Road??…:DD…Greenlane? Oh man!…That’s not intelligent at all!!
http://www.propertyguru.com.my/property-listing/setia-green-3story-terrace-house-sungai-ara-rm1-2m-1300982
Latest post…offer 1.2M,nego till1.15M. 3 story.
I think penang needs both monorail or the expressway. it will be better! of coz, if is MRT then is even better. monorail can only cater for small crowd. to plan for future, MRT is more feasible.
2nd Bridge not safe ….. undersea tunnel …. please build asap …..