They ‘ miscalculated’ cost of undersea project

> DAP reps say MCA, Gerakan misleading public over proposed tunnel

GEORGE TOWN: The DAP-led state government has rebuked MCA and Gerakan for misleading the public about the proposed RM6.3 billion cross-channel undersea tunnel, saying in their haste to find fault, they had miscalculated the costs.

And to make matters worse, they continue to pursue the issue with a distorted version of the mega infrastructure project.

Two state executive councillors, Lim Hock Seng and Chow Kon Yeow, told a joint press conference that the state had, on numerous occasions, reiterated that the amount paid to the Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (the project delivery partner) for works done for the feasibility study and detail design of the three major highways, was via land alienation.

“It was also mentioned through various platforms that the land alienated was based on a net developed area, not a gross developed area as (state Gerakan chairman) Teng Chang Yeow had assumed with his own costing of RM321 million,” Hock Seng said.

Chow said DAP was 100% behind Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng ( pix) and that news reports that he had given a “slap to Lim (Guan Eng)” over his answers to queries over the project was false.

“State MCA chairman (Datuk) Tan Teik Cheng should give himself a slap for misleading the people and trying to pit DAP against Lim (Guan Eng).”

Chow said both Gerakan and MCA would likely fail to find fault with the project after various clarifications by the state.

Meanwhile, Guan Eng said the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report that he was refering to was on the three highways, and not the undersea tunnel, as the latter would only be constructed in 2027. Hence, there was no pressure to complete an EIA on the project now.

In another development, state Gerakan Youth acting head Jason Loo urged the state government to make public the feasibility study and the EIA report for the proposed construction of the three-paired highways. Loo said he was informed that the project would have an impact on two forest reserve areas – the Teluk Bahang and Bukit Gambir area.