Easing the tourism belt

THE proposed Tanjung Bungah—Batu Ferringhi—Teluk Bahang paired road will be constructed in phases.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the first phase of the 12km north coastal road would entail a 5.7km stretch from Jalan Lembah Permai right up to the Hard Rock Hotel along Batu Ferringhi.

“Each kilometre would cost about RM5mil so we cannot afford to do it all at one go.

“The stretch from Tanjung Bungah to Batu Ferringhi will be our priority because it will really help alleviate traffic congestion especially on weekends.

“Actually, some parts of the stretch have already been constructed by private developers, so it’s a matter of linking up the roads,” he said, adding that the first phase was expected to cost some RM230mil.

Lim said the state Public Works Department had applied under the 10th Malaysia Plan for RM586.2mil to build the paired road.

The dual-carriage road, which will pair with the existing coastal road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, is part of the state government’s four proposed traffic alleviation projects.

The other three are a 6.5km sea tunnel connecting Gurney Drive to the northern side of Butterworth, a 4.2km road from Gurney Drive to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu expressway by-passing the city centre and a 4.6km road linking Bandar Baru Air Itam to the same expressway.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had announced on Nov 16 that no monetary payment or funding would be given by the state for the construction of the projects as costs incurred would either be recovered through land swap, toll or any other form.

Costs for the sea link tunnel would be recouped from toll charges expected to be higher than the Penang Bridge and second bridge while construction of the roads would involve land swapping deals.

On Nov 12, the state government called for contractors to participate in a pre-qualification exercise for the projects estimated to cost up to RM8bil.

Work on the four projects is scheduled to commence by 2015 and a compulsory briefing for interested contractors will be held on Nov 29 at 10am at Level 52 Komtar.

The closing date for the pre-qualification exercise is Jan 14.

The selected contractors from the pre-qualification exercise will be allowed to participate in the study, designing and implementation of the projects’ Request for Proposal (RFP) which is expected to be called in March.

For details, log on to www.penang.gov.my. - The Star