GEORGE TOWN: Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has called on Barisan Nasional to carry out the RM353mil Penang Port dredging project and to reinstate free port status before the coming general election.
He said whether Barisan returns to power in Penang was irrelevant as the proposals could be carried out even now.
He said the state Barisan’s proposed free port status for the island and the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) complex on the mainland were “merely stage play”.
“The proposals for the development of the port are just for show because whichever party forms the state government won’t have the power to decide the policies of Penang Port,” he said at a press conference.
He was commenting on Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha’s written reply to Chong Eng (DAP-Bukit Mertajam) in the Dewan Rakyat that Seaport Terminal (Johor) Sdn Bhd had won the bid to privatise Penang Port.
On May 14, state Barisan chairman Teng Chang Yeow announced plans to restore Penang’s free port status.
It was also reported that Penang Port Sdn Bhd had submitted a proposal to the Finance Ministry to build a CIQ complex in Butterworth.
Meanwhile, state Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, who was also present at the press conference, said the state had applied to the Federal Government for several projects including a monorail under the 10th Malaysia Plan but there was no response.
“The Penang Municipal Council has given its input to the Finance Ministry on the importance of the monorail.
“The council also addressed the need for a tram system in the heritage zone, an LRT and transportation hub in George Town and facilities for the disabled which also did not receive any response,” he said. - The Star
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