GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will only submit an application for a bridging loan with Export-Import Bank of China (EXIM) when the Federal government approves the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the state government will begin the process of obtaining the loan once it obtains approval for the multi-billion ringgit project.
“After the approval is given, we can proceed to draft the financial architecture to fund the light rail transit (LRT) and the highways, which are part of the PTMP project.
“We hope the federal government will consider once we have submitted the loan application to fund the project, without the need for the federal government to give a single sen,” he said in a press conference today.
He was commenting on Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani's statement, in which he said his ministry has yet to receive the Penang government’s application to obtain a RM1 billion loan from EXIM to finance the PTMP.
In May this year, Lim announced that the state would secure a RM1 billion loan from China as a bridging fund for the proposed Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.
The three man-made islands to be reclaimed under the PSR project will fund the entire PTMP.
The multi-billion ringgit PTMP is the state government's initiative to solve traffic woes in the state.