According to a reliable source, the award of reclaimed land as payment-in-kind to the builder of the Gurney Drive-Bagan Ajam tunnel will not involve any additional reclaimed land beyond what had already been approved and provided for earlier.
I have been told that the land to be swapped will come from part of the shoreline already earmarked for private reclamation in Tanjung Tokong and provided for under the Penang Structure Plan.
Also, from what I gather, the state government’s rationale for a highway from Pangkor Road to the Jelutong Expressway is to channel traffic away from George Town so that the inner city can be made more pedestrian friendly with easier access for public transport. At least, that’s the plan.
Making George Town pedestrian-friendly and more accessible to public transport is a good idea. Only thing I am not sure is how the Jelutong Expressway is going to cope with all that traffic. The thing about laying down road infrastructure is that once you have put it in place it gets more and more difficult to wean people off private motor vehicles.
The state government says it can’t do much about public transport as that comes under the federal government. I understand those constraints though I think the state should explore all possible options and do the groundwork for sustainable transport while waiting for a more enlightened and people-centred federal government in the future.
In the interest of the people, Rapid Penang and the state government should set aside their different political affiliations and cooperate to improve public transport in the state. The BEST initiative on the Penang Bridge shows that such cooperation is possible.
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http://www.kwongwah.com.my/news/2011/11/20/19.html
A massive piece of land reclamation- 740 acres!
Will add more congestion to the already congested Gurney Drive
Checkmate!
If the 3rd Link toll charge can be nil (wishful thinking?) or lower than 1st & 2nd Bridges, I am all for it! We and our future generation cannot always be bled and hung out to dry by these blood suckers!
Way to go, LGE!
Checkmate – what a strategic and brilliant move! Checkmate only if LGE can come out with a traffic dispersal solution for incoming and outgoing traffic to and fro from the island. Checkmate if there are no lop-sided swap deals which could cause more future environmental problems and inflationary pressure on property development. Checkmate if we Penangites can safely use this tunnel and paying lower tolls for many years, then the 2 bridge links will be useless to us and less profitable for them to punish & leech us Penangites for generations. This tunnel project still has to be integrated with… Read more »
‘it can’t do much about public transport as that comes under the federal government’ – this is just a lame excuse as usual when they do not bother to take an initiative, these excuses come up. Anyway, all these talk about roads and tunnels are for the future, what is being done now? Something must be done now. One suggestion is to make Kelawai road and Gurney Drive one way, there are quite a number of roads in between so it will not be a problem. Another is for the MPPP enforcement officers and traffic police to do something about… Read more »
You don’t come here and … lah! You never take a bus trip since don’t know when. The last trip I took I had to stand all the way to Komtar because the bus is fully loaded. The bus services no doubt still have room for improvement. But the sheer volume of commuters that take the bus services despite of the short coming speak volume that we need a better and well planned public transit. I personally purposely took public transportation to understand the problem of commuters as well as Rapid Penang. That is why I can come out with… Read more »
So your yardstick for successful public transportation is when they are empty? Penuh also complain, kosong also complain. You just want something to nag about like an old house wife. Long winded somemore.
Stop your desperate twist and turn, you only insulting your own intelligent! Bodek Kaki!
I second Malay-First Muhyiddin for this one, Penang undersea tunnel is not needed Lim Guan Eng is trying to emulate LCE and hope he can leave a permanent monument in Penang regardless it’s truly needed or not. Two bridges and one ferry are more than enough to cater for an island with 500,000 population. More access roads to Penang Island will choke off its traffic flow. More rational and sensible solution is building a LRT on the Penang bridge to link mainland and island to discourage vehicles to enter small island. I do not mind to park my car in… Read more »
Good idea indeed but the bridge is under the control of the fed gov. Building more roads isn’t a good idea though. There should be an affordable LRT tunnel to the island and a complete LRT system (preferably underground) for most of the Island. That way, ppl can keep their cars at home, reduce congestion and pollution, and at the same time save on having to pay the exhorbitant RM 7 toll on both bridges. Surely 8 billion would fund these projects if a an open tender is called. Rakyat wins, environment wins, state wins, and developers also win (but… Read more »
Has PR differentiated itself from the thieves by carrying out the folowing?
– EIA
– Feedback from transport operators, studies, surveys
– Open tender
PR is copied every damn thing from BN…how we should call them?
Bo Hood 2.0
Land swap deal is a standard practice of BN.
So I do not understand why people need to make so much noise here.
Lim Guan Eng was quoted in a news portal yesterday as saying that he did not say that the reclamation would involve prime land around Gurney Drive but near Gurney Drive Does that means the billionaire corridor along Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah will lost the existing seafront views? This is the worst nightmare after voting in the PR state government. My Penang Citizen’s Alternative Transit Initiative which cost only RM650million covering total busway length of 250km with 2000 publicly shared bicycle programme is the only ecologically, economically and politically sustainable traffic solution. By building the BRT infrastructure for bus operators,… Read more »
Owning a car is a top prority among malaysians to signal your ‘arrival’.
Only electronic road pricing will deter this trend, and make people switching to public transportation.
It is easy to implement such system in Penang island.
Good and affordable public transport system has to in place first b4 you ask Malaysians not using private cars.
why does public transport falls under federal gov?
Is it possible state to make/create public transport solution independant of federal gov?
Many many moon ago, it wasn’t under Fed gov.
I remember taking MPPP bus number 9 from Chowrasta to Free School.
But alas, some smart alec took it all away!
I vote for a change of gomen…one that is for the ppl, of the ppl and by the ppl. Also not one that is cakap tak serupa bikin!
It is possible as long as the state government is not running bus services, there is nothing the federal government can intervent. All the state government need to is to provide BRT infrastructures the way it provided FTZ infrastructures to MNCs. Ny Penang Citizen’s Alternative Transit Initiative is designed for the purpose of providing BRT infrastructures to bus operators thus circumvent the control of the federal government. But when someone in the power decided to give favors to special interests to achieve his political agenda as well as his own interests, that person will purposely pretend that he has no… Read more »
Public transport operators require licenses and permits from MOT. The state government can provide the support and infrastructure, but the ministry approval is still required. Tunnel projects IF and WHEN they are constructed may not require such approvals. Let’s not get the 2 issues mixed up.
This is the typical twist and turn of some stupid LGe’s supporters. The BRT infrastructures just like the tunnel do not required the approval from MOT.
Simple statement labelled twist and turn? Rabid and whinging soul like you can only lash out and harp on your BRT over and over . Try hawking it to the other state governments and see if it us taken up. You claim to have a solution to penang’s transport woes? Judging from your constant personal attacks and one-sided rants , I doubt you can amount to anything more than a lonely , bitter arm hair critic hiding behind the PC screen. Go get a life…
Buses are licensed by FEDERAL Government agencies like Land Transport Department . NKKHOO pointed out JKR are very professional. So why should the state government pay for somone’s … Let JKR manage if they are very professional. I have done busway and the road is exclusive for nothing but only government owed stage buses
Jelutong expressway jam because most of the vehicles from Tg. Bungah, Tg.Tokong, Gurney, Bagan Jermal using JE to Penang Bridge. Then, vehicles from Jelutong, Bayan lepas and mainland use JE to Gurney Plaza, Batu Feringgi and Tg.Bungah. This will create congested road everywhere in inner city up from Esplanade to Jalan Burmah and Jalan Kelawei. Once the third link and Gurney-JE tunnel completed, vehicles from those areas no longer have to use Penang bridge. Inner city will be less vehicles and is more sustainable to traffic due to its narrow road. Then, the state government should design the areas into… Read more »
Well said! Kangelar. We want the 3rd Link to not only take the load off the Jelutong Expressway but it will ‘checkmate’ the monopolistic control of fixing the bridge toll by the Penang Bridge 1 and Penang Bridge 2 (when it is in operation) operators. When you have a 3rd Party-owned 3rd Link competing with the other 2 Links, we the bridge users, at least have a choice of which link to use. Right now there isn’t a choice and we are held ransom by this monopoly. The Fed Govt say there will be no increase in bridge toll for… Read more »
The way the 2nd Bridge toll rates and promised corresponding rise in toll of the first is going, Its MAY be possible for LGE to build the 2nd tunnel without giving out ANY Land at all.. Unless PR take over the Federal Govt and definitely lowering of toll rates, its actually possible for PR to build the tunnel and cost less than the bridges..
By right you should check it out first or at least clarified with your reliable source before you jump the gun with the heading ANOTHER CONTROVESIAL SWAP DEAL.
Well, with the tunnel, those people going north will take the tunnel thus reducing the traffic at the Jelutong Expressway. It make sense right?
I was going by what was reported in the press earlier.
In any case, the tunnel and swap deal would still be controversial. And it’s not a long-term solution for congestion on the island.
Moreover, an independent hydrological study needs to be carried out to determine the real impact of the land reclamation.
For one thing, the Jelutong Expressway will not able to cope in the medium-term. Already you can see bottle-necks during peak hours.
Which press..UMNO press?
Still controversial? By what measure , Anil? If a project benefits the people, and the process for awarding it was legitimate and above board, then it it would be incorrect / misleading to term it such. Something does not become “controversial” just because some people and yourself opposed it from the beginning without having the full set of facts. To err is human. In this case , an acknowledgement of such is in order.
I maintain it is still controversial because it is moving us into the wrong direction – unsustainable transport – while the hydrological consequences of the land reclamation have not yet been publicised.
Interesting perspective. Any idea that is not correct in YOUR opinion is deemed controversial ? An opinion formed without having all the facts at that. That is a stretch and rather unfair.
Does Bolehland has hydrological expert in the first place?
I know one graduated from UK Imperial College but he is working as a stock broker now.
The state can always engage recognised independent international experts.
What study done by LGE to prove the project is viable economically and socially?
Show me evidence first before you open you big mouth to say” the project is benefiting people.”.
You and I are not paying for it. It is going to be paid by whatever smart … as a private enterprise. So that is their problem and they will show to you when they submit whatever plans are required by the authorities.
All losing money big private ventures are absorbed by taxpayer’s money in this Bolehland.
Can you or LGE guarantee no bailout with public fund? Enact a law to ban any bailout is much welcomed.
“What study done by LGE to prove the project is viable economically and socially?”
And you think Anil has done his feasibility study before shooting his on public transport?
Any project that meets regulatory requirements can and should be approved if it is beneficial in the opinion of the ones administrating the gov. You expect every decision and project to be justified to YOU before approval? Please spare us your inflated ego. Go read the proposed plans and related info on YOUR own time.We have better things to do. Before demanding proof of this or that, kindly give valid grounds for opposing it instead.
Hi everyone,
For the plans on transportation distribution and long-term solution to traffic woes in Penang, Anil is spot on that Rapids Penang and State Govt should cooperate to benefit the people.
I believe the Pg State Govt would most willingly do this, otherwise they would be the biggest losers in all future elections, but what can it do if the other party is NOT willing, worse still continue to sabotage and put constraints on the State Govt!!
Penangites are well-aware of this unfriendly stance of the Federal Govt, acting directly or through its agencies to sabotage the State Govt!
So do you think state government will charge toll cheaper than bridge or same at RM7.00.I hope its not more the the Fed Government bridge.Then I will take the tunnel in support of LGE government even if it means having to travel a further distance. Let the bridge revenue drop, so less earning for the bridge concessionary..