Too late to change undersea tunnel alignment, says Penang exco

 

The state government says the Penang Port Commission was informed about the undersea tunnel portal alignment as early as 2015.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government said today it is too late to change plans related to the undersea tunnel project after the Penang Port Commission (PPC) suggested that the exit portal in Butterworth be moved.

Yesterday, PPC chairman Tan Teik Cheng issued a statement in support of the undersea tunnel project but said it should give way for the port expansion exercise.

However, state infrastructure committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said PPC had already been told about the portal alignment since 2015 and should have made changes to its plans instead.

In a statement, Zairil said PPC’s condition – to move an artificial island inward to give way to the expansion of an additional pier on the Butterworth wharves – was “impossible” to meet,

The artificial island will carry the traffic out of the undersea tunnel from Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth.

Zairi said the alignment of the tunnel’s entrance and exit portals cannot be changed because of technicalities related to the gradient “or how steep the roads can be when approaching the artificial island”.

“The technical consultants explained this at the meeting with PPC and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB),” he said.

“PPC, which has just started planning its port expansion projects, should consider the existing lines that have been shared and managed with them since 2015.

“If PPC sincerely supports the third route project (undersea tunnel) by the Penang government, it should integrate the tunnel with the North Butterworth Container Terminal expansion planning, not the other way around.”

PPC plans to reclaim 217ha to expand the Butterworth port on its northern waters, including expanding the docks by 1.5m, saying its board approved the plan in 2020.

It said if it were to expand southwards, away from the undersea tunnel alignment, it might affect the submarine pipelines delivering fresh water to the island.

PPC, which is a federal government body under the transport ministry, also suggested that the undersea tunnel be bored at least 23m below the seabed, instead of the planned 11m to 13m.

“If the tunnel went deeper, it would allow the safe passage of large ships into the waters of the Butterworth port,” it said.

It said it was insisting that the undersea tunnel be bored 23m below the seabed to cater to the future demand of container ships, with these weighing 13,000 TEUs to 15,000 TEUs and expected to take a maximum draft of 16m.

The feasibility study of the 6.5km undersea tunnel to stave off the heavy traffic on the first bridge was ready in 2016 but is yet to be released.

The cost of the tunnel alone is expected to be about RM3 billion, while three other road projects to be built together with the tunnel are expected to cost another RM3.3 billion. - FMT