State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow said since the Department of Environment (DoE) had given the nod to the project last November, the state government could begin signing the agreements for “work components” with the contractors.
The project was won by Consortium Zenith Sdn Bhd in 2013 in an open tender, with the main contractors being China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC).
“Work on the three major roads would only start if the government give the green light and probably an agreement has to be signed right after that.
“And an agreement has to be signed to detail out other matters related to the work component, it is the final agreement,” he said in a press conference today.
Chow said in a letter dated Nov 7 last year, DoE director-general Ahmad Kamarul Najuib Che Ibrahim had set 59 conditions to be met before, during and after the construction work.
The “three main roads” (formerly three paired roads) stretch from Air Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (5.7km), Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang (also known as NCPR) (10.53km), and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive junction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (4.1km).
Chow said the first road to be built would be the North Coast Paired Road (NCPR), a 10.53km road connecting Teluk Bahang to Tanjung Bungah.
The only hurdle was the acquisition of land owned by the federal government along the route alignment, he added.
“We need to resolve the acquisition first. But I am hoping the construction and the acquiring can run concurrently, where portions not affected by the acquisition can start immediately,” he said at a press conference here today.
The NCPR will run along the foothills some 200m from the Teluk Bahang roundabout and end near the Muniswarar shrine at Jalan Lembah Permai.
It will have three interchanges – Jalan Sungai Emas, Persiaran Sungai Permai and near Chin Farm Waterfall, which are all in Batu Ferringhi.
The NCPR has been the subject of contention, with residents and the Penang Forum voicing concerns over the cutting into of forest land, among others.