He noted that Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng’s administration had replaced the initial idea of an undersea tunnel along the North Channel with that of the bridge and said this appeared to be a “deliberate diversion” to escape scrutiny over the state’s financial arrangement on the tunnel’s construction.

He added that related feasibility and design reports commissioned by the state and costing RM305 million were considered over-priced by the ministry.

“I am the Works Minister and I am here to do work for the benefit of all, including Penang – not to engage in unnecessary ping-pong press statement politics,” Fadillah said.

In a statement today, he said the Penang government has refused to submit existing feasibility and detailed design studies of the RM6.314 billion tunnel and three associated paired roads despite the ministry requesting for these five times over the past three months.

“Truth be told, our Ministry is also curious to see what reports that cost the Penang Government RM305 million look like as we consider these to be highly over-priced – particularly the RM208.755 million cost of the feasibility and detailed design reports for the 20.3km three paired roads – of which RM135 million has already been paid by the Penang Government,“ Fadillah said.

Fadillah was responding to Lim’s letter to him yesterday stating that Penang would submit the documents when they were completed by year-end or early next year. Lim said they were 83% done at present.

Lim also said the state did not understand the ministry’s logic in requiring the undersea tunnel project’s feasibility study when it had no relation to the third bridge. Both the tunnel and bridge are meant to link Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam on the mainland.

To this Fadillah said the Penang Executive Councillor for Works, Utilities and Transport Lim Hock Seng had confirmed that the alignment for the tunnel and third bridge would be the same.

This meant that traffic flow projections in the reports for the tunnel and three associated roads would still be valid, he said.

He reminded Chief Minister Lim that any major transport infrastructure project – particularly one that crossed the sea – could not exist on its own and would impact the traffic flow of surrounding roads and sea routes, whether existing or planned.

“It would be a dereliction of our duties if we were to approve a project that can negatively impact on traffic in surrounding areas or cause difficulties for the nearby ports that will have an impact on the economy of Penang,” he said.

Fadillah also said Penang’s idea to replace the tolled tunnel with a toll-free bridge only came about after the state government was unable to withstand scrutiny from various parties including Abdul Rahman Dahlan, the former Urban Well Being, Housing and Local Government Minister.

Rahman had questioned why the state government planned to fully pay for the cost of the tunnel’s construction but still give a 30-year toll concession to the private company awarded to build it, he noted.

“It is doubtful that this proposed change (from tunnel to bridge) would even have come about without this scrutiny. This sudden change to a bridge appears to be a deliberate diversion to escape from such scrutiny,” Fadillah said.

He also said Lim had at first accused the Federal Government of not approving Penang’s application for a bridge but when Fadillah pointed out that the state had never applied or engaged with them, Lim admitted to this and said it was because the Penang Government was not brave enough to apply before.

Lim then wrote a letter to the Federal Government to approve the third bridge but did not submit any documents, Fadillah said.

“Since the Penang Government said last month that the construction start date for the three linked roads to the tunnel or bridge has been delayed again to next year when it should have started in 2015, we consider the request for the third bridge to be no longer urgent as it would be similarly delayed,” Fadillah said.

He also said he considered the matter closed but would revisit it once the Penang Government was ready to cooperate and the necessary reports, submitted as promised.