Wednesday, May 11, 2011

Sea Tunnel Link for Penang?

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 Yand di-Pertua Negri Tun Abdu; 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.

The Star Online by Andrea Filmer

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