No clear timeline for Penang Undersea Tunnel Project
Source: TheStar
After more than a decade, the proposed Penang Undersea Tunnel, part of the RM46bil Penang Transport Master Plan, looks to be stalled due to delays in the release of the feasibility study report. According to a news article published by TheStar, State infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari confirmed the delay and stated that there is no clear timeline for the project to start. He further added that work may only begin beyond 2026 or further, with at least five years required for necessary approvals from the Federal Government and other relevant agencies.
First proposed in 2011, the Penang Undersea Tunnel project was intended to link Gurney Drive on the island with Bagan Ajam on the mainland in Penang, aimed at easing the chronic traffic congestion in the state. However, the project has been marred by delays, and the complete feasibility study report has already missed its deadlines in 2014 and 2016.
The state government has said that it would only make a decision on the implementation of the project after considering written reviews from the Penang Port Commission and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB), both of which have strong reservations about the project.
Due to the latest delay in the undersea tunnel project, PPSB will now carry out its RM1bil expansion at the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) as planned without waiting for the tunnel construction to start. Its chief executive officer, Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan, has confirmed that the NBCT expansion and the tunnel construction have turned out to be contentious issues due to the clash of construction routes, although both parties have agreed to coexist and work together.
Just don’t see there is any logic to build a undersea tunnel ! It is cumbersome with so many pitfalls. Moreover, we are NOT in a typhoon region !
@shanqiao
Logic ? Simple, moneys moneys……..
Why need undersea tunnel when our traffic is not really that horrific enough?
Build it for own fun, for own syok-sendiri fame?
Bina under sea tunnel berbillion ringgit tak semestinya blh selesaikan masalah trafik di seberang dan pulau. Ia cuma akan jadi satu lagi beban kepada penduduk negeri pulau pinang selain dari dua jambatan yang kena bayar. Bina kemudahan berlion ringgit ini tentu sekali bukan percuma dan tolnya pun akan jadi tinggi. bolehkah semua lapisan masyarakat mampu mebayar tol tinggi. So, kerajaan secara jujur perlu beri fokus pada jalanraya yg sediaada dan kelemahan yg ada menyebabkan hari hari trafik jem. Simple shj…saya blh syorkan kpd sesiapa berminat blh buat survey mudah …lihat shj jalan-jalan yang tiga atau empat lane tiba-tiba jadi dua lane…, Simpang- Simpang yang tidak ada jalan susur keluar kiri atau kanan yg selesa..lampu syarat yg kekal timing pada semua waktu…dan sebagainya…perbaiki masalah2 remeh macam ini pun bleh banyak membantu mengatasi masalah kesesakan lalu lintas
@Pandiyan Anbalagan
You are damn right Pandiyan! They just refuse (or have no brains) to tweak what we already have for better efficiency, but always thinking about mega projects to enrich their cronies.
@Pandiyan Anbalagan
Fully agree Pandiyan. Bottleneck on major road in Penang is a problem, road signage and also painted arrow on the road is not enough nor proper. Economics teaches us that no matter how many lanes of road you build to solve the congestion, the end result will be the same due to human phycological factor to buy even more cars.