The Federal Government had to shelve certain plans, including the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) and monorail projects, due to escalating building material costs, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said yesterday.
When asked whether the government would revive the PORR and monorail projects, he said: “How can we revive something that we haven’t done?” Abdullah went on to elaborate that there was a sharp hike in building material prices, and the government needed to properly assess whether it could proceed with the two projects.
“I don’t want to see a situation under which additional allocations are needed when these projected are halfway through. It is already happening now. All kinds of letters are coming from contractors who were given contracts and started work, but later found out that building material price have escalated,” he said.
Abdullah had earlier chaired the inaugural meeting of the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA), which was also attended by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak and Perlis Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Md Isa Sabu.
When queried, Abdullah said the Penang chief minister did not bring up the PORR and monorail issue during the meeting, although the latter had been calling the federal government to revive the projects. “When the meeting ended, Lim gave me a letter which he said contains his opinions on the projects. I have not read the letter,” he said. - By Kevin Tan (The Edge Daily)
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