GEORGE TOWN: Penang MCA has lodged a report with the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) over design changes to the RM851.97mil Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway Bypass project.
Its secretary Yeoh Chin Kah said he hopes MACC will investigate whether there had been any irregularities in the project’s implementation.
He questioned why two tunnels and an elevated U-turn in the original design were removed without a corresponding reduction in the project cost or full public disclosure.
Yeoh alleged that the revisions significantly altered the project’s alignment and construction method but were never fully explained to the public.
“We want MACC to determine whether there was any abuse of power or project mismanagement.
“The public deserves an explanation as to why the project’s scope was reduced while the contract sum remained unchanged,” he said after lodging the report at the Penang MACC headquarters in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah here yesterday.
Yeoh said Penang MCA first raised the issue on July 2, and the state government has since responded through press statements.
“We have therefore decided to leave it to MACC to investigate and establish the facts,” he said.
Also present were Penang MCA state committee members Chooi Foo Cheong and Ooi Teik Liang, as well as the party’s election preparation and scrutiny committee vice-chairman, Chan Wooi Jin.
On July 14, Yeoh asked whether two planned tunnels at Bukit Gambier and Changkat Delima, along with an elevated U-turn near The Light, had been removed from the project.
The following day, state infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the two tunnels were dropped in July 2024 after engineers reverted to an open-cut design following geological and safety assessments.
He said the proposed elevated U-turn near The Light was removed because the available weaving distance did not meet technical requirements.
Instead, a new U-turn at the Penang Bridge interchange was approved after taking into account geological conditions, road user safety, and construction feasibility.
Zairil said the contract value remained unchanged because the contractor absorbed the redesign costs and increases in construction material prices under the contract.
The 6km toll-free bypass, known as Package Two of the Penang undersea tunnel and three paired roads project, links Lebuhraya Thean Teik in Bandar Baru Air Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.
Originally scheduled for completion in 2024, the project has received two dateline extensions and is now expected to be completed next April.
