Penang still requires a third road crossing between the island and the mainland to ease congestion in northern Seberang Prai, the state assembly heard, because the Mutiara Line LRT will move rail passengers only.
Zairil Khir Johari, who chairs the state Infrastructure, Transport and Digital Committee, said the light rail link between the island and Penang Sentral in Butterworth is a crossing for trains with no carriageway for vehicles, according to NST. “Although it is a bridge connecting the island with Seberang Prai, it is not a vehicular bridge. It is strictly for trains,” he said.
He added that the rail crossing will not reduce the heavy traffic volume on the Penang Bridge. “Given traffic demand and feasibility, another road crossing remains necessary, particularly to cater to rapid traffic growth in northern Seberang Prai,” he said during question time.
The realignment would shift the crossing further north so it does not clash with the North Butterworth Container Terminal expansion or disrupt the main maritime navigation channels. On the island, the approach road would tie into traffic dispersal plans around Gurney Bay and the surrounding main roads.
Only Package 1 of the four projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan is being built, with the rest at different planning and construction stages, Sinar Harian reported.
The third link is Package 4. A feasibility study prompted the state to reassess whether an elevated bridge is a more practical option than the undersea tunnel planned for years, and the state has approved a review of the alignment and conceptual design. Zairil said the study is under way and its findings will go to the Penang Port Commission for feedback and regulatory consideration before a final route is fixed.
Replying to Teh Lai Heng (DAP-Komtar) on whether land swaps could finance the project as property values change, the assemblyman for Tanjung Bungah said the RM845 per sq ft baseline in the agreement refers to net developable land to be handed to the turnkey contractor, not the gross reclamation area. He stressed that the financing model for the RM6.3 billion package does not rest on land parcels alone.
“The RM6.3 billion sum is structured to be paid not solely via land swap, but also through a toll concession for the third link,” he said. “The toll concession acts as an adjustable variable where we can alter the concession period or the toll rates to ensure the project remains commercially viable and fully deliverable.”
On Package 2, the RM851 million bypass linking Bandar Baru Air Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, tunnel options were dropped in favour of the original open-cut design after technical advice from the Public Works Department. Physical progress reached 93.19 per cent as at 30 September, and the road is expected to be completed in April 2027 before testing, commissioning and a road safety audit.
Claims certified for that package up to 12 August reached RM695.977 million, or 81.69 per cent of the contract price of RM851.970 million, which uses a modified design and build contract paid through staged land transfers rather than cash. Land covering 11.6183 acres had been handed to the contractor by 20 December 2024, worth RM427.657 million of work, leaving RM231.344 million of completed work still unsettled.
Package 3, the highway network from Persiaran Gurney to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Bypass, is still being reviewed. The North Coastal Paired Road alignment between Tanjung Bungah and Teluk Bahang is also under review for technical suitability, local sensitivity, population density and soil erosion risk, with the sub-agreement terms still being finalised and an environmental impact assessment under way for part of the new route.
In August, the state confirmed that the third link remains in the Penang Structure Plan 2040 on an indicative basis. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said then that the bridge or tunnel proposal stayed in the plan because the agreement with the project company is still valid. Penang is currently served by two road bridges to the mainland.
