By Stephanie Jacob
At RM6.3 billion, the Penang tunnel and related highways comprise a major project. But there seems to be just a bit too much haste and all things may not have been considered yet. What does the tunnel entail? When will it be built? Why go ahead without the feasibility study or any idea of environmental impact. And is it necessary even? In the first part of a series of articles on the tunnel, KiniBiz looks at the events leading up to the tunnel and the key questions.
Traffic congestion on Penang island is a daily headache that locals have had to deal with for years now. To date no comprehensive plan has emerged to relieve the massive jams that the people go through each and every day. For a long time now, the people of Penang have suffered, first from the apparent inaction of the Barisan Nasional government and now from the back and forth between the Pakatan Rakyat led state government and the Barisan Nasional federal government.
In many ways at the crux of the problem lies partisan politics – the issue is that the federal government has a stranglehold on any public transportation developments and can make it difficult for a state government to proceed without its blessing. Penang is further faced with the unique challenge of conforming to strict restrictions put in place by UNESCO that come with Georgetown’s heritage status.
It is with all this in mind says Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, that the state government has chosen to try and solve the traffic headache by expanding its highway network and by building a third link, this time under the seabed, from Bagan Ajam on the mainland to the Gurney Drive area on the island. It is hoped that by alleviating some of the traffic coming through the city centre heading towards the existing Penang Bridge and by diverting some of the traffic to bypass the city centre, some of the state’s crippling traffic congestion especially in the city centre might be eased.
Lim has said that this is the best option the state government has on hand, given the lack of cooperation from the federal government. He says that the Pakatan Rakyat government will not be a “do nothing” government, and he is determined to see the project come through what may. The chief minister has even stated that he would be willing to lose votes over the project, rather than sit idle on this matter.
Lim Guan Eng
But not all are convinced by Lim’s conviction or agree that it is better to do something rather than nothing. Various reasons ranging from viability and costs, to the environment have been levelled as criticisms against this project. Among his most vocal critics have been several NGO’s and perhaps unsurprisingly, political opponents BN. What is surprising however is the criticism coming from circles that are normally behind Lim, perhaps putting the chief minister in unfamiliar territory.
“We feel that ‘do-the-wrong-thing’ approach…is worse than the ‘do-nothing’ approach,” said a statement from Penang Forum. Penang Forum is made up of a coalition of NGO’s and civil society groups, including Aliran, Malaysian Nature Society and the Penang Heritage Trust. The coalition has actively and consistently been a thorn in Lim’s side since the project was announced.
The Consumer Association of Penang (CAP) released a statement in mid-March of this year in which they underlined their ongoing opposition saying “CAP would like to reiterate most emphatically its opposition to the latest mega-project proposed by the Penang state government to resolve the state’s traffic problem.” CAP and Sahabat Alam Malaysia under the leadership of S.M. Mohamed Idris have also been very vocal on their opposition to the project.
Penang Forum, CAP and SAM are asking many pertinent questions. The first among many is the actual need for a third link at all. In the coming months Penang’s second bridge will be completed and open for business, creating a second connection between the island and the mainland. Many feel that these two links will help even out the current overload of people who now rely solely on the Penang bridge to get in and out of the island.
Many dissenters feel that since the state government has not been able to assess how well the second bridge works, they have no business sprinting to start construction on another link somewhere else.
“The second Penang Bridge is not even operational yet. Given that its impact on traffic is yet to be seen, one wonders why the Chief Minister is in such haste to push through the construction of an undersea tunnel which is beset with risks and adverse effects,” said CAP in its media statement.
Sprinting really does seem the best phrase to describe the pace that this project is moving at, and it seems to be taking shortcuts where possible as well. In many instances, it seems like planning and due diligence has been rushed through.
The government’s haste in this project has raised eyebrows, and for good reason too. It started in 2011, when the state government signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chinese state-owned contractor Beijing Urban Construction Group, within just four days of launching a comprehensive study to formulate a Transportation Master Plan (costing RM3.2 million).
It was a puzzling sequence of events to say the least, and critics cannot understand why a massive transportation project would be announced before the master plan studies even kicked off. Worryingly it is a pattern the administration seems to not mind keeping up as it awarded the tender to Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd without the completion of feasibility and environmental studies.
The absence of independent professional studies and the perceived lack of in depth public consultation have led many Penangites to draw negative parallels to the much maligned Penang Global City Centre project that was launched by the previous state administration (and later scrapped by the current administration).
Furthermore the winning consortium has also been offered an extremely lucrative 30 year concession for the tunnel link based on the current toll rate of the second Penang bridge. Accusations of being a flip-flop government are already being levelled, as the move seems to be in direct contradiction of Pakatan Rakyat’s promise to abolish tolls. Lim has sought to justify the move by saying that it was put in place because the state government wanted to avoid potential lawsuits by the bridge operators who could sue for loss of business to the tunnel link should it be free.
This explanation has done little to satisfy critics who fear that this will lead to extensions and an indefinite period of tolls should the consortium fail to recoup its expenses in the 30 year period. The chief minister has promised that this will not happen, as the state government has inserted a clause stating that they will not commit to a traffic volume guarantee.
Nonetheless there is no clause saying that the concession will end immediately after the 30-year period or upon the consortium recovering its expenses. As such his assurances are failing to placate many, especially since he will not likely be in charge at the end of the concession period and future administrations will not be bound to abide by any of his promises.
But the money concerns do not stop there – the state government has said that this project will be funded via a land swap with the consortium instead of a cash settlement. According to statements released by the Penang government, a total of 110 acres of prime land, which will have to be reclaimed from the sea by the consortium, along Gurney Drive will be handed over.
Calling it smart economics, Lim has assured that it is a win-win situation for the state government and the developers. Furthermore, says Lim, this is also the best way for the government to regain some of the reclaimed land that he says was sold by the previous Barisan Nasional government for pittance.
Detractors of this mega project however are not seeing it from his angle – instead they have suggested that the chief minister might have the interest of big business in mind above that of Penangites. On the island, land and property prices are already extremely high and locals fear that more high end development will only serve to push affordable land and housing even further from the hands of the island’s residents.
Land reclamation as well as the construction of the tunnel link has also faced grave opposition for environmental reasons from NGO’s and local fishing communities. There is naturally a great deal of concern with regards to the method in which the tunnel link will be built and the impact it will have on the marine ecosystem of the area. In an interview with a local English daily, Tanjung Tokong Fishermen Association chairman Amran Taib said the inshore fishermen were afraid that tunnel would affect the fishing grounds in the area.
Lim has promised that a detailed environmental impact assessment will be conducted, but suggestions that it will be paid for by the consortium have led many to already question its integrity.
Furthermore critics have stated that they are concerned that by building more highways and links, the state government is putting an emphasis on private travel at a time when it should be encouraging citizens to forgo their own vehicles in order to lessen carbon emissions and the existing overdependence on oil.
Mohamed Idris
Then of course, as with all issues in this country politics has quickly come into play – NGO representatives especially Mohamed Idris, the president of both CAP and SAM have reacted badly to veiled suggestions by Lim that they may be playing to Barisan Nasional’s fiddle rather than having any real objections to the multi billion ringgit project. In a series of open letters, both men have taken their criticism of the other public – with both accusing each other of having ulterior motives.
But it is important to note that it has not been all brickbats, in fact both the Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce and a Penang Malay contractors group have openly voiced their support for the project. In a report carried by an online news portal, the Malay contractors group explained that they supported the idea because it would benefit Seberang Perai Utara’s (SPU) residents. Again however, politics has cast a shade on their arguments, and their impartiality has been questioned.
With the elections looming on the horizon, one can be sure that this project is going to take centre stage in the battle for Penang. In the coming articles we will try to sift through the many arguments being put forth and try to answer some of the questions on everyone’s minds. To start with why the Penang state government and in particular Guan Eng’s haste? Following which we will look at the issues being raised – and try to determine and separate the genuine concerns from the politically skewed criticism.
Tomorrow: Why the opposition to the tunnel
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