The state government has announced plans to implement two new road projects costing some RM4bil to reduce traffic congestion on Penang island by up to 40%.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the first project was a 4.2km inner ring road connecting Gurney Drive to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (formerly Jelutong Expressway) using a combination of semi-tunnel and elevated road.
“The other is a 4.6km-long tunnel road linking Paya Terubong and Bandar Baru Air Itam to the expressway,” he said.
Lim said the state was inviting a Request For Proposal (RFP) for the two projects, adding that major contractors were encouraged to submit their designs through the RFP process.
“The projects, which will be awarded via open tender, do not have a commencement date but the state wants the project to be implemented quickly,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
Lim said the state had come up with the projects because roads here were getting more congested due to rapid development.
“I hope the Federal Government and the private sector will support the projects. It may be costly but they are crucial in managing traffic congestion on the island.
“The projects, which came about after a series of studies over two years, will be incorporated into the Penang Transport Master Plan,” he added.
Penang Municipal Council senior traffic engineer A. Rajendran said the two new roads could alleviate congestion by up to 40% along the local road network. - By Ian Mcintyre (The Star)
13 comments
Any road widening plan for teluk kumbar area to Jelutong Expressway?
Tunnel road linking paya terubong to Jelutong expressway ?
How the road be cut through ?
which area will be "kena"-ed acquired ?
Any news ?
everything is under proposal, not approve yet i think
Just like our nearby Singapore, you can find tunnel (road) in CTE. I believe our Penang government can do it.
Talk only, build tunnel I don't think so raining for 3hrs all drains full or flood don't say 3days, still long way to go, drain don't know how to build going to build tunnel. Make people laugh.
Dear concern,
I understand your frustration with what has happened to Penang in the past 20 years. You & the rest of equally frustrated Penangites have said enough is enough to those arrogant ex-state administrators who were not even capable (or just simply boh chap) of solving simple drainage problems.
It is no rocket science to build proper drainage, same goes for tunnels. The state doesn't need to know how to build tunnels. The state doesn't need to have the cash to build tunnels.
All it needs to know is how to leverage on it's authority on land rights to raise cash and to hire the most qualified contractors to build the tunnels. That is not so difficult to achieve when you don't have corruption and favouritism, not to mention the "external" support that the current penang administration is enjoying from "friendly" parties who have long to see the success of a clean, fair, and merit-based society.
Dear condomana
While your article is well said, your name raises eyebrowns and questions your seriousness. But ya, from what your wrote, you have my backing.
If we have coffee today, i can spend hours talking about many claimed incidences of a wasteful society. A nation's inherent self centredness ingrained into a corrupt system shortchanges society. So much more can be achieved not just in terms of quantity but also the quality of what the society receives (whether material, actions or decisions) boils down to rightful use of resources. Go check out the book 'Can Asians Think'.. highlights the once mighty Asia declined over the centuries as greed, deceit and lies shaded societies. Collectively, thinking as a society, Asia lost ground to the West.
Penang new state gov under PR strives to do a good job, however it needs money and money is controlled by BN controlled Putrajaya. So, PR has to take over Putrajaya for PEnang and other states to prosper.
Sharing: Monorail and LRT/MRT is better than what ever it is. RM40B can built around 15-25KM LRT or Monoail system. Personally think that why we still wan to built highway or tunnel when the research show that LRT or MRT is the best way in traffic engineering.
Sharing: Penang is Free Internet, mean Maxis, Celcom and Digi are going tutup kedai in Penang? Penang is Highest Investment in Malaysia. What Penang people like me who kerja keras everyday dapat?
Penang got apa-apa akta lembaga rumah? What it help in people like me kerja keras tapi masih tak cukup beli rumah?
Sea tunnel link for Penang?
By ANDREA FILMER
GEORGE TOWN: Penang may get a third link - a 6.5km sea tunnel linking Gurney Drive on Penang island and Bagan Ajam on the mainland.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the project was proposed by the Chinese company Beijing Urban Construction Group Co Ltd (BUCG), which built the famous Bird's Nest Olympic stadium in Beijing.
He said a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed between the state and BUCG on Thursday in Putrajaya, in the presence of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and Chinese premier Wen Jiabao.
"To get China's attention is a compliment for Penang," Lim told reporters here Friday after the opening of the state assembly sitting by Yang di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdul Rahman Abbas.
Lim said the Penang Municipal Council would embark on a six-month study to ascertain the technical, physical and funding requirements for the project.
He added that although BUCG had proposed the third link, the project would have to be awarded through an open tender.
On Thursday, eight agreements and MoUs were signed between Malaysia and China.
One of the MoU, on resolving traffic congestion in Penang island, was between the Penang Government and BUCG, which was signed by Penang state secretary Datuk Farizan Darus and company chairman Liu Longhua.
It is not known yet whether the third link was specifically mentioned in the MoU. "
latest news from the STar !
Wow ! If this "sea link tunnel" can be materialised, Gurney Drive & Tanjong Tokong property prices will shoop UP to another level ?!
Dear NEC Andy,
You sound like another frustrated citizen who has lost his way and purpose in this modern democratic capitalist world.
In a nutshell, this is how the system works :-
(1) New OPPORTUNITIES are created by way of attracting investments.
(2) We need to dress ourselves up (by having good infra, human resource, security etc) in order to be "attractive"
(3) The new OPPORTUNITIES (aka carrot) created will encourage innovation, skills upgrade & education, hard-work, competition, better risk management, better resource allocation etc along the process of grabbing these OPPORTUNITIES.
(4) Not everyone (but most) would benefit in the process. Those who participated in the competition and did fairly well would benefit. Those who didn't do that well and those who did not participate in the competition at all would be left out. (Like Thomas Cup lah, only the winners get to stand on the podium)
(5) But overall, the system makes the world a better, safer, more comfortable place to live in, plus an increase in life expectancy.
Looks like that's the way to survive in this modern global village, and we can't cut ourselves off from this global village, unless you can live without iPADs, Nokias, Facebook, Hondas, Justin Bieber, Adidas, EPL etc.
Tak cukup beli rumah? Have you tried applying for one of those gov flats? You should be able to afford that if you have a stable job.
Dear noble,
Condomana as in condo-mana (where is the condo), as I am still looking for a condo. Some naughty itchy people with good imagination read it as condom-ana
At this property-price-crazy moment, it is better to be "condom-ana" than to be "comdo-mana" !
If you continue to ask "condo mana", (as I do now) you will get really frustrated by the ridiculous offer price ! (good location / good view, easily 400-500 per sq ft)
Be a "condom - ana" or "condom ada", at least you can still be safe and SIOK !!! (ha ha ha !)