Accusations stupid or ignorant, says consortium

Construction group Konsortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, which won the RM6 billion tender to construct a highway and undersea tunnel project in Penang, has denounced claims that it a RM2 paid-up capital company.

"The consortium is a special purpose vehicle set up for the project. I don't know why people are making an issue of it being a RM2 company. They are either being stupid or ignorant," Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd chairperson Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli said.

"They do not know how stringent the tender process was. It was not something done overnight, but was started in 2011, and it finally came through this year," Zarul told a press conference at Komtar in George Town yesterday.

"Initially, some 60 companies bid for the project and four were short-listed. We had to work hard, for we did not know what the terms were and the state held a tight lid on everything," he said.

Zarul was responding to allegations by state BN information chief H'ng Khoon Leng (left) that Konsortium Zenith, which wthe tender to build three highways and an undersea tunnel linking the island with the mainland, was a RM2 company with a paid-up capital of RM100,000.

Accompanying Zarul were state executive councillor Lim Hock Seng and four other company heads - Zenith Construction executive director Lee Chee Hoe and general manager Ibrahim Sahari, BUCG (M) Sdn Bhd managing director Yong Hong Lin and Singapore-based consultancy Asian Corporate Advisor Pvt Ltd's managing director Lian Hong Kong,.

At a press conference yesterday, H'ng accused the state government's defence of Konsortium Zenith as "outrageous and unbelievable".

"The company registration record shows that at March 1 last year, its paid-up capital to be RM2.

"We challenge the state government to show company records that it is a RM4.5 billion company.

"Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng is an ex-accountant. Perhaps, his officers should take a financial course," said H'ng, who is Gerakan deputy chief.

Agreement to be signed after GE

Lim announced the award of the tender to Konsortium Zenith last week, and this was immediately opposed by BN leaders and vocal NGO representatives in the Penang Forum.

The four companies involved in the joint-venture are Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd and China Railway Corporation Ltd (with paid-up capital of RM3.5 million and RM4 billion); Beijing Urban Construction Group (RM541 million); Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd (RM3.7 million); and Juteras Sdn Bhd (RM1 million).

The total paid-up capital for the four amounts to RM4.5 billion.

Zarul said Konsortium Zenith finally decided to bid RM6.3 billion to undertake the road project, RM1.7 billion less than the amount estimated for the three highways and an undersea tunnel linking Penang Island with the mainland.

He admitted that the contract to build the roads have not been signed with the state government yet, and would be inked only after the general election, which must be called by June.

Asked what would happen if Pakatan Rakyat takes charge of the federal government and puts more emphasis on public transport, Zarul said the consortium would accept its fate.

"We are businesspeople, after all. If we don't get the project, what to do? It's our karma. The GE is near and we don't know what will happen," he said.

"But there goes all the money we have put in, and the 17 consultants we have appointed to work on the project," he added.

On whether the company would comply with or pay heed to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report, Zarul said, "If we don't, Lim will be the first to come after us as he is very strict about these matters."

Lim had said the state was seriously considering appointing an independent consultant for the EIA report, which will eventually need the approval of the Department of Environment, and the cost for it would be charged to the company that won the bid for the project.

The entire project, slated for completion in 2025, includes the construction of the Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road, the George Town inner and outer ring roads and the Air Itam bypass.

A 110-acre plot of land in Tanjung Tokong is to be exchanged with the company, which is forking out the money for the project.