Dredging for new bridge to start soon

UEM Builders company's managing director Datuk Ridza Abdoh Salleh

PENANG: Dredging work for the Second Penang Bridge will com-mence by the end of this month, said UEM Builders managing director Datuk Ridza Abdoh Salleh. 

He said the company was currently focusing on building its casting yard in Batu Kawan. 

“Construction work on the project started the day Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi attended the groundbreaking ceremony in November last year. 

“You may not see actual physical work being done on the site now but we are working hard.  

“The fabrication equipment is be-ing manufactured in Shah Alam, Ipoh and Italy. This is crucial because without a casting yard and the ne-cessary equipment, you cannot build the bridge,” he said, adding that work on the second link was “ahead of schedule”.  

However, he said the design for the bridge would only be finalised by 2009. 

“Designing is an ongoing process. We are doing several things at one go. This is the fast-track system,” he told reporters at a Hari Raya dinner and media briefing session at Tra-ders Hotel last night.  

He also said the company had made allocations for the rising cost of building materials. 

Asked to comment on who would head the steering committee for the project, Ridza said he had not been officially informed. 

“But from what I understand, (former Public Works Department director-general) Tan Sri Zaini Omar will be heading it.  

“The committee was set up by the government to expedite the project. This is a normal procedure,” he said.