Questions over Penang's RM46b mega transport master plan

QUESTION TIME | Another mega-project which is in the process of being finalised after the RM44 billion East Coast Rail Link and the RM140 billion development value Bandar Malaysia is the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

As with the earlier two projects mentioned, there are a number of vital questions that remain unanswered over PTMP's projects and the massive land reclamation project, reportedly worth an eye-popping RM70 billion (subsequently denied) to finance them. There is no clarity on how it will be undertaken, while there is a strong China element to this project as well, with a China firm being one of the beneficiaries of a major contract, as we shall see.

This project, too, appears to be strongly pushed through, this time by the DAP-led state government, despite substantial opposition by many Penangites and NGOs that have demanded answers - which have so far not been forthcoming. It also led to an unpleasant encounter on business radio station BFM 89.9 with Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, which saw him hang up on the questioner, Khoo Hsu Chuang.

That’s a useful starting point for this discussion on the complex PTMP, for which no breakdown appears available so far for the estimated RM46 billion for the various projects.

According to Malaysiakini (see chart below), the PTMP includes the Bayan Lepas LRT, the Ayer Itam Monorail and the Tanjung Tokong Monorail on Penang island as well as the Raja Uda-Sungai Nyior-Bukit Mertajam-Permatang Tinggi Monorail on the mainland, coupled with a BRT (bus rapid transit) extension to Kepala Batas.

It also includes the Permatang Tinggi-Batu Kawan BRT line on the mainland, which will be extended northwards to Bukit Tengah/Seberang Jaya and southwards to Nibong Tebal.

Also in the masterplan are the Pan Island Link 1 (PIL1), Pan Island Link 2 and 2A, the North Coast Pair Road, new interchanges at Butterworth-Kulim and Juru, road upgrades at Permatang Pasir-Perda and Bukit Minyak as well as an undersea tunnel as a third link between the island and mainland.

Reclamation works for three man-made islands in the south of Penang, which will be used to fund the above projects, are also included in PTMP. The Star had reported that the reclamation works could bring in revenue of RM70 billion, but Chow indicated in a comment at the “hang-up” BFM interview that it could be more.

However, there was no indication of how much the cost of reclamation would be, although Chow told BFM that an open tender would be called for the purpose. There was also no indication over what time period the reclamation of some 1,800 hectares would take place.

Checking the PTMP website offered no new insights in terms of timelines, costs and other vital information and it appeared to be merely parroting what had been reported before. There are no feasibility reports or environmental impact assessments (EIA) on the website.

And then there was the gaffe that Chow made when he announced that the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, involving 1,826 hectares and part of the PTMP, had been approved by the federal National Physical Planning Committee - and only to told by Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad, who heads the committee, that no green light was given.

To top that embarrassment, Chow then said, rather comically, that Khalid was correct, technically, because the green light was subject to some 18 conditions being met. But Chow, typically, did not say what these conditions were, apart from mentioning that the 18 conditions and further EIA conditions would require a further year before full compliance.

While DAP supporters like to think that their officials are rather efficient, forthright and upright, this certainly is not the case with the PTMP, one of the Penang government's main projects that dates back to before GE13 in 2013, being the undersea tunnel and associated works for the then price of RM6.3 billion.

Then chief minister and current finance minister Lim Guan Eng had then said in an interview with business news portal Kinibiz that the tunnel was the only option because the previous government had surrendered the rights to any bridge link to the federal government. “Any bridge across the channel must get prior approval of the federal government. After studying the federal-state agreement thoroughly, we were advised that a tunnel was not covered by the agreement, and hence that is why it was chosen.”

The construction of the tunnel and associated roads was tendered out and the eventual winner announced was a consortium with China and local partners called Consortium Zenith-BUCG Partners (see chart), with the China Railway Construction Corp Ltd and Beijing Urban Construction Group being the partners. The bid price was RM6.3 billion. However, nothing has started so far, six years later.

What was interesting was payment was to be made via a land-swap deal, Kinibiz reported, under which 110 acres of land being reclaimed by Terry Tham’s E&O would be given to the consortium. So far, there appears to no change in these arrangements, even though DAP is in the federal government and potentially the tunnel could be replaced with a (cheaper) bridge.

On top of this, the consortium is still allowed to collect toll. In addition to the land payment, the consortium has also been given a 30-year concession and will be allowed to collect toll for the tunnel link at the same rate as the second bridge.

Also, the award was controversial because of questions over the tender process from the fact that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) was first signed with the Beijing Urban Construction Group in early 2011. This was before the tender process even began, towards the end of 2011. Detractors have suggested that this preempted the tender process and limited the number of companies that participated in the process.

In the meantime, according to another report in The Star, aside from “the reclamation of 760 acres under the project’s concession agreement, E&O is reclaiming a further 131 acres at its own cost along the Gurney Drive foreshore for the Penang state government. Within this 131 acres, E&O has commissioned leading landscape designers and architects to present a conceptual master plan for a new seafront promenade, recreational destination and park for the public, known as 'Gurney Wharf'”.

All these indicate that there is much to explain over these projects. What the Penang state government needs to do is to enumerate all its development projects; give estimated costs; provide time frames; justify the projects; explain how they are going to be funded and by whom; how are the tenders going to be called for and awarded; and, what are the EIAs that have been done and are going to be done. If they don’t do these, there is cause for suspicion.

All these have to be made public, debated and the legitimate concerns of all parties taken into account before the projects go ahead. A little time and care taken over these projects will save a lot of money in the future.

---

P GUNASEGARAM laments the appalling lack of transparency in government projects at all levels, even after the change in government. What a shame! E-mail: t.p.guna@gmail.com - Mkini