Chow (fourth left) exchanging documents with Azmi after signing the MoU sub-agreement between the state government and the consortium in relation to the construction of the bypass from Bandar Baru Ayer Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
AFTER a six-year wait, the construction of the RM851mil Bandar Baru Ayer Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass road is set to start on Oct 31.
The 5.7km road is the second package of the three paired roads package under the RM6.3bil undersea tunnel project.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and concessionaire Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) chairman Tan Sri Azmi Khalid signed the sub-agreement in Komtar yesterday.
CZC won the concession in an open tender where the cost of the tunnel and the three road projects are to be paid through rights to 44.5ha of land in Gurney Wharf.
Chow said the road project would take three years to complete and it would improve traffic dispersal in areas that are gridlocked during peak hours.
“The parcels of land to be given up as payment are yet to be decided as Gurney Wharf is still being reclaimed.
“Work would begin on the Ayer Itam side near Lebuhraya Thean Teik and end at the expressway, with certain portion of it reserved for Penang contractors, ” he said.
Azmi said China Railway Construction Corporation Ltd would remain as the engineering procurement contractor under the original agreement.
The three roads project are from Ayer Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (5.7km); Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang (10.53km); and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive junction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (4.1km).
The 7.2km undersea tunnel will connect George Town’s Pangkor Road and Bagan Ajam in Butterworth.
The undersea tunnel project is scheduled to begin in 2023.
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