Penang undersea tunnel project on hold

Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli

KUALA LUMPUR: The feasibility study for the proposed undersea tunnel that would link Penang island to Butterworth has been put on hold.

"The Penang State Government had requested to stop the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel," Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli told reporters on Tuesday.

He said the company had completed about 83% of the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel.

Note that the 7.2km undersea tunnel linking the island state to the mainland was awarded to Consortium Zenith BUCG back in 2013 together with three highway projects.

"The state government did not provide the explanation to stop the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel but want us to focus on the highway projects for now," Zarul said.

He did not elaborate if the entire tunnel project would be cancelled following the halt in the study.