GEORGE TOWN: The Works Ministry has yet to receive the Penang Undersea Tunnel feasibility and detailed design studies reports promised by the Penang government 18 months ago.
Its minister, Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof, said today he found the delay in submitting the reports, which were reported to cost RM305 million, “very unusual” as the project was awarded in April 2013.
“No construction has begun and the reports costing RM305 million are not fully completed yet. This is despite at least RM220 million having already been paid out by the Penang government,” he said in a statement.
Fadillah said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had written to him in April last year asking for the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel project to be changed to a third bridge project.
“I told him that my ministry cannot approve it based on a two-page letter and had asked the state government to send the feasibility and detailed design studies of the three roads and tunnel to me.
“At that time, we were very eager and curious to see what reports that cost RM305 million look like as based on my ministry’s experience it seems vastly over-priced,” he said, adding that the Board of Engineers had calculated that the price was as much as 400 per cent higher than gazetted fees.
However, said Fadillah, he has yet to receive anything from the Penang government.
“After some initial hesitancy, Lim then gave the excuse that the studies were 83 per cent completed, and promised that it would be completed by the end of last year and he would send them to us once done. That has not happened.
“When I asked about the delay in March this year, Lim said it was still only 87 per cent completed and promised that the state government would send it six months later, and again the deadline has passed. As of today, we have yet to receive a single page of these reports,” he said.
Fadillah noted that if a project by the ministry experiences delays or have areas of concern like the Penang government’s project, the ministry would have come under intense criticism from the opposition.
He said this was proven by the opposition’s attacks on the RM150 million Sri Aman Hospital project in Sarawak, which was announced around the same time and then experienced some construction delays.
“(However, in this case the hospital project) is still on track for full completion next year,” he said.