Design changes common practice, says exco man on Air Itam bypass

 Zairil Khir Johari says they were made to ensure the project fulfils safety and technical requirements.

Penang exco member Zairil Khir Johari said the bypass project originally adopted an open-cut and viaduct design, but switched to a tunnel concept, before reverting to an open-cut design after taking several factors into account. (Facebook pic)

GEORGE TOWN:

A state executive councillor said design changes to major infrastructure projects such as the Air Itam-Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass project are common practice to ensure they fulfil safety requirements.

Infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said this after Penang MCA questioned whether the two tunnels and an elevated U-turn structure previously planned for the bypass remained part of the project.

The party said there was no sign of the tunnels.

Zairil said the RM850 million bypass project originally adopted open-cut and viaduct designs, but switched to a tunnel concept after taking into account the geographical features of the project site, with the change approved by the state government on Nov 27, 2020.

He said the project later reverted to an open-cut design after taking into account challenging geological conditions, user safety, construction feasibility, as well as operational and future maintenance needs.

The design change was approved by the state government on July 3, 2024.

PLUS Malaysia Bhd and the Malaysian Highway Authority (LLM) also objected to the elevated U-turn structure proposed near The Light Waterfront Penang because of their limited weaving lengths.

A new U-turn design was then proposed near the intersection of the first Penang bridge, meeting all the technical requirements agreed upon with PLUS and LLM.

“There was no increase or reduction in the project cost, in accordance with the terms of the contract. Design changes and warranties for all these designs are fully borne by the contractor.

“This includes the additional costs the contractor must bear due to rising construction material prices in recent years,” Zairil said in a statement today.

He said the state government approved the design changes based on a professional assessment by engineering consultants and technical agencies, such as the public works department’s project monitoring team.

Yesterday, The Star reported Penang MCA secretary Yeoh Chin Kah as questioning why these structures went “missing” in the latest plans for the bypass project.

Yeoh cited a Buletin Mutiara report quoting chief minister Chow Kon Yeow as saying previously that the bypass would include two tunnels at Bukit Gambir and Changkat Delima, each measuring about 300m to 400m.

He also said that while the project had reached 91% completion, there was no visible evidence of the tunnels either at their planned locations or in a video released by the state government earlier this month. - FMT