After 7-year wait, Penang inks deal for Ayer Itam- Bayan Lepas bypass

After seven years of waiting, the Penang government today inked a RM851 million sub-agreement with Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) to build a bypass to address traffic woes in the state.

To be fully completed in 36 months, the 5.7km bypass, which is a part of the Penang Transport Master Plan, connects Bandar Baru Air Itam in Farlim to Lebuhraya Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu. It will be 70 percent elevated.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the bypass (Package 2) is one of four packages which also includes Package 1 (from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang) and Package 3 (from Gurney Drive, the central business district in George Town to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu highway) and the 6.5km Penang undersea tunnel linking Gurney Drive to Butterworth.

Asked what losses the state incurred due to the delay in approvals for the projects, Chow said, "The losses have been in the people being trapped for many man-hours in traffic".

"There were also many, many long man-hours used for the preparations of the detailed design and environmental impact assessment (EIA) report and the effort to ensure all conditions are properly complied with," Chow said at a press conference in George Town today.

CZC chairperson Azmi Khalid said the construction of the bypass, which was awarded to the company in 2013 via an open tender process, will start on Oct 31.

At the time of the award, a preliminary agreement was signed between CZC and Penang involving RM305 million for the feasibility study and detailed design, said Chow.

"Since the EIA for the bypass was approved by the Department of Environment on Nov 7, 2017, the Penang government decided to implement Package 2," Chow said.

"So On Oct 2, the Penang executive council agreed to sign the sub-agreement for Package 2, which is why we are here today," he added.

"It is my hope and the state government's intention that this project can bring long-term benefit to the people of Penang".

In August, Malaysiakini reported that Chow had said that the project would commence in October as the deadline stated in the environmental impact assessment report was Oct 31.

The bypass is expected to reduce travelling time from Ayer Itam to Bayan Lepas to five minutes under normal traffic conditions.

The elevated highway will have three interchanges along the way at Jalan Thean Teik, Jalan Yeap Chor Ee and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. - Mkini