Penang undersea tunnel to cost slightly more than RM3b, says CZBUCG

By Sharen Kaur

Published in NST, March 14 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd (CZBUCG) expects the 7.2km undersea tunnel linking Penang island to the mainland to cost slightly over RM3 billion, with construction to begin in five years.

   

  The undersea tunnel forms part of the RM6.3 billion Penang mega project that also consists of three road construction jobs with a total length of 21.2km.

   

  CZBUCG won the project in October 2013 through an open tender. The consortium's partner for the undersea tunnel works is Beijing-based China Railway Construction Corp Ltd (CRCC).

   

  Meanwhile, the estimated cost for the three roads - Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang, and Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu - is slightly above RM2 billion. This includes some RM500 million to be reimbursed to the government for land acquisition.

   

  CZBUCG would build the roads first and they were targeted to be completed by 2021 or 2022, said CZBUCG chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli.

   

  "It all hinges on how much time we have daily to do the construction. We are estimating six years at the most, if we start in June, to finish building the three roads in stages," he said.

   

  In return for undertaking the Penang mega project, CZBUCG is given 44.5ha of freehold reclaimed land in Tanjung Pinang by the state government.

   

  Zarul said CZBUCG would leverage on the land in Tanjung Pinang with Penang-based Ewein Bhd for funding purposes.

   

  Both CZBUCG and Ewein will plan several projects on the reclaimed land that are estimated to have a gross development value of RM25 billion over 10 years.

   

  A memorandum of understanding was signed last August to develop the first project on 21ha, which is a RM15 billion wellness resort city to be known as "Wellness City of Dreams".

   

  The wellness resort, which is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2020, will have a wellness mall, wellness business and specialist centres, wellness resort and a hotel, further boosting the medical tourism sector in Penang.

   

  Zarul said Ewein would focus on developing the land.

   

  "It is best that we concentrate on construction and project management, while Ewein focuses on developing the land," he said.