THE RM27 billion Transport Master Plan (TMP) is a various-stage project covering a 15-year period and not a rush-rush undertaking.
Reiterating this on May 5, state exco for Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Chow Kon Yeow assured non-governmental
organisations (NGOs) that the state government was not rushing into the massive project without transparency.
“The implementation of the TMP is by stages. We are not rushing to build everything at one go. I have repeated this so many times before,” he said
at a press conference in Komtar with SRS Consortium project director, Szeto Wai Loong and exco for Works, Utilities and Transportation, Lim
Hock Seng. SRS is the Project Delivery Partner (PDP) for the RM27 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) projects.
The first two projects to be implemented after necessary approvals would be the Light Rail Transit (LRT) line between Komtar and Bayan Lepas,
and the first phase of the Pan Island Link (PIL) highway scheme. Chow said the completion of both were the current priority to pave the way
for other projects. Chow was responding to some NGOs’ statement which listed nine criticisms against the TMP, including the source of funding
and sustainability of the projects, among others.
Chow said the proposed multiple transit system that connects LRT, monorail, tram and buses is common in all cities and was not a “clueless
combination” as alleged by the NGOs.
Meanwhile, Szeto said the proposed reclaimed land off the southern coast of Penang island will be sold via public auction and proceeds used to
fund the TMP.
“The implementation of each TMP component depends on economic viability and funds availability and each TMP component to be implemented
will be tendered out via open tender,” he added. He said the state government is also studying options for sustainable rail operations.
“No agreement will be signed unless approval is obtained for the railway scheme and the LRT, that’s the condition
of the award to SRS,” he added.
He said the TMP components may even be scrapped if Putrajaya refused to approve the projects.
“We are open to any proposal and suggestion to improve the project but I hope they do their homework to check the viability of their proposals
before putting in their suggestions because our team put in a lot of effort to study all these proposals,” Szeto said.