Penang LRT Works And Airport Expansion To Proceed Simultaneously

GEORGE TOWN, Jan 2 (Bernama) -- Infrastructure works for the Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) Mutiara Line project and the expansion of the Penang International Airport (PIA) may be carried out simultaneously to minimise inconvenience to the public, according to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

He said that based on the information he received, the owners of both projects are in discussions to collaborate.

"By initiating infrastructure works for both the LRT alignment and the PIA expansion simultaneously, it can save time and reduce inconvenience.

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"Therefore, the project owners must work together so they can schedule the works accordingly," he said at a press conference at Komtar today, which was also attended by State Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.

In March, the federal government officially took over the Penang LRT Mutiara Line project from the state government following the Cabinet's approval of the development proposal for the project.

The government decided to appoint MRT Corp, a company wholly owned by the Minister of Finance Incorporated, as the developer and asset owner, with the project to be implemented via open tender.

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The LRT project will span approximately 29 kilometres with 20 stations, including two interchange stations at Komtar and Penang Sentral.

Meanwhile, the PIA expansion project, costing around RM1 billion, has recently commenced and is divided into three packages, expected to be completed by 2028.

Chow said both projects fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government, with MRT Corp as the owner of the Penang LRT Mutiara Line and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) overseeing the PIA expansion.

He added that preliminary civil and structural works for the LRT Mutiara Line project are expected to begin soon, as SRS Consortium has been invited as the selected tenderer for this component of the project.

"SRS Consortium is the contractor for civil and structural works for the first component of the first segment, stretching from Silicon Island to Komtar," he said.

Chow also encouraged interested parties to participate in the open tender process for the appointment of contractors for the engineering, procurement, design, construction, testing, commissioning and maintenance of the rail system for the LRT Mutiara Line project.

He said the land acquisition process, involving state-owned, private, local authority and Penang Development Corporation (PDC) lands for the LRT alignment, is progressing smoothly.

He noted that the state government has been working closely with the federal government to ensure the project proceeds according to schedule without any issues.

"The state government has held meetings with MRT Corp and the Ministry of Transport (MOT) over the past few months to discuss project details such as depots, land acquisition and stations.

"Tomorrow (Friday), the state government will have another meeting with MOT to discuss several more matters. Regarding land acquisition, this issue has been brought to the State Executive Council Meeting (MMK), and so far, everything is going smoothly," he said.

-- BERNAMA