Penang undersea tunnel study delayed by port expansion

The 6.5km-long undersea tunnel and roads project is part of the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan. (File pic)

GEORGE TOWN: The completion of the feasibility study for the Penang undersea tunnel has been delayed by a port expansion project in Butterworth, which may overlap with the tunnel’s proposed mainland entry.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said this meant that the port expansion could affect the tunnel’s alignment, adding that the state government would need to decide whether to continue with the current tunnel project or realign it.

“Whether the tunnel will continue or be realigned will be decided by a steering committee (headed by executive councillor Zairil Khir Johari),” he told reporters here.

The feasibility study for the tunnel project, which was first proposed in 2011, missed two previous deadlines in 2014 and 2016.

This 7.2km tunnel connecting Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam on the mainland is a component of the Penang Transport Master Plan designed to alleviate chronic traffic congestion in the state.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd, the company running the state’s main ports, has raised strong reservations on the tunnel’s alignment over the years.

The company now plans to expand the North Butterworth Container Terminal, which handles over 1.4 million twenty-foot equivalent units a year at a cost of RM1 billion, regardless of whether the tunnel project proceeds.

Separately, Chow issued an apology to the residents of the Jay Series Condominium, several areas of which were damaged yesterday after rock blasting work in the vicinity sent soil blocks flying.

The explosion happened at a slope in the construction site for the RM851 million bypass road project connecting Bandar Baharu Ayer Itam and the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

The project’s proponents, the Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC), said the debris consisted of projectiles caused by a controlled explosion of rocks lodged on the hillside.

It said the net intended to catch the debris was insufficient and announced plans for its expansion to prevent future incidents.

PIC CEO Farizan Darus said there had been 600 controlled explosions on the site, with 200 more in the future. He said all the explosions were monitored by the minerals and geosciences department.

He also said the damage from the incident was estimated at about RM20,000, with the project proponents vowing to fix this as soon as possible.

Two cars were damaged in the incident.