See-To: Is Lim implying info sent to Bursa was false?

PETALING JAYA: Datuk Eric See-To has criticised the Penang government for failing to respond to questions posed to them over a major project involving three main roads and an undersea tunnel.

The Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications deputy director questioned if state exco member Lim Hock Seng was suggesting that the financial information submitted by Voir Holdings Bhd to Bursa Malaysia in August last year was false.

The submission by Voir Holdings – which changed its name to Vertice Bhd on Nov 27 last year – detailed the contract value, but this was different from what Lim provided at the state assembly last year.

Voir Holdings stated that the contract value of Major Road 1 was RM1.111bil. This is the 10.53km North Coastal Paired Road from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.

As for Major Road 2 – the 5.7km Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass – Voir Holdings said the figure was RM974.8mil.

The Major Road 3 – the 4.075km Gurney Drive-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass – was RM1.105bil and the undersea tunnel was RM2.845bil, stated Voir Holdings in its submission.

The figures add up to RM6.036bil.

As for Lim’s accusation that See-To was a “paid blogger”, the latter replied: “To accuse me of being a paid blogger shows he has no proper answer other than personal attacks. Perhaps I should sue him and ask him to prove when, how much and who paid me.”

He added that Lim was still trying to deny what he told the state assembly in a written reply that the cost of reports for a simple road with a speed limit of 70kmph was a staggering RM120mil, whereas the cost of reports for a much more complicated undersea tunnel that cost 10 times more to build was only RM96mil.

“This is clear evidence of the front-loading of the cost and payment.

“It is shameful that a state exco and assemblyman would serve to deny everything and answer nothing, but try to divert using personal attacks,” said See-To.

He was replying to points raised by Lim at a press conference in Penang yesterday, during which Lim told reporters that Penang had always been consistent with the cost of the mega project.

Lim held the press conference to refute allegations raised by See-To, who claimed that the total contract value for the three major roads had increased significantly while that of the undersea tunnel decreased.

“The figures provided by me during the state assembly comprises the construction and land acquisition costs for the three major road packages and undersea tunnel,” said Lim.

Yesterday, Lim gave the cost breakdown of the project. His figures were the same as what he told the state assembly in March last year.

He said the project costs, which included the construction cost and land acquisition cost, were RM772.4mil for Major Road 1; RM991.6mil for Major Road 2, RM767.5mil for Major Road 3 and RM3.5bil for the undersea tunnel.

“Regarding the feasibility study cost for Major Road 1, which was stated as RM120mil by See-To, the state government would like to clarify that the total feasibility study cost for all three road packages is only RM31mil,” he added.

Lim did not provide a breakdown of the feasibility study costs.

When asked why Voir Holdings submitted a different set of figures to Bursa Malaysia, Lim said: “We do not want to reply on behalf of the company. It is better for See-To to ask the company or Bursa Malaysia.

“His accusations of front-loading are not true at all.”