He said the state’s answers on the issue in the state assembly over the past few years was that Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, together with China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) and Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), were the companies appointed to undertake the feasibility studies and detailed design (FSDD) for the projects.
“Now, the DAP state government is suddenly saying there are 15 companies for the undersea tunnel project and 19 companies for the three paired highways.
“So, is the DAP state government today saying that all its answers to the august house on this issue over the years were false and misleading?” he asked in a statement today.
“What a good turnaround and twist, following the footsteps of the famous Chubby Checker with his ‘Lets Twist Again’ (song),” the former state executive councillor added.
Yesterday, Penang Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the state stood by the figure of RM305 million as payment for the FSDD.
He said this in response to BN claims that the amount could have been lesser based on a report on a Chinese government website that said CRCC had been given a US$22 million deal (RM69.3 million at the exchange rate in 2013) to conduct the studies for the tunnel and roads.
Chow explained that CRCC was just one of 34 consultants in the projects.
He said the breakdown of the amount in the state Public Accounts Committee‘s (PAC) report on the matter showed the total cost of the FSDD for the three roads, involving 19 consultants, to be RM208.754 million; and for the tunnel, involving 15 consultants, including CRCC, to be RM96.248 million.
Teng said the PAC report was not an investigative report but one prepared by the state’s Economic Planning Unit (EPU) for the PAC. It outlined the entire project and costs in general.
He also said the state’s reply did not dispute or reject the US$22 million contract announcement.
He said the difference between this figure and the RM305 million cited by the state was first exposed by acting Penang Gerakan Youth chief Jason Loo, following which he was slapped with a defamation suit by Consortium Zenith BUCG in 2016.
“Why then did the DAP state government allow Consortium Zenith BUCG to take legal action against Loo for exposing the difference of the figures between CRCC’s US$22 million or RM69.3 million and the DAP state government’s figure of RM305 million?” he said.
Chow says Penang BN wrong about cost of tunnel-roads study, again