Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said despite Barisan Nasional making the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), of which the PIL 1 project is a part of, a central campaign issue during the recent general election, voters gave a stronger mandate to Pakatan Harapan.

“You can say that the people of Penang did not agree with the election strategy by the opposition, to use the votes to cancel all the projects. The answer is very clear.

“But of course, we are open to local communities who may not have prior knowledge on the alignment of the highway,” Chow told reporters after a briefing on the PTMP for state assemblymen and MPs here today.

Several groups have started a petition to stop the project, saying it would destroy the Youth Park and Penang Hill.

The 19.5km PIL 1 will be a strategic bypass that runs along Gurney Drive, Gottlieb Road, Youth Park, Bukit Bendera, Paya Terubong, Sungai Ara, Bukit Gedung, Sungai Kluang, which will then connect to the elevated highway in Bayan Lepas, before linking to the Second Penang Bridge.

PIL 1, to be implemented under the first phase of PTMP, is designed as a need-based highway to enhance road hierarchy and significantly improve regional traffic dispersal on the island.

A tunnel is set to make up 70% of the alignment, which will also run through Youth Park.

Chow had previously defended the project cutting through Youth Park, saying it could not be avoided.

He had said a long cable bridge will run across the park with very few pillars.

The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report on the proposed PIL 1 is now on display until Aug 10.

Chow said he would still continue to engage those behind the petition.

“As I said earlier, we have conducted the most extensive gathering of feedback with stakeholders. This phase is for them to voice out, and after that, we will collect all the opinions and views.

“It will be our responsibility to answer the Department of Environment (DOE) on the concerns of the communities. We are definitely open to more public engagement,” he said.

Meanwhile, Chow also said the state would consider requesting a soft loan of RM1 billion from the federal government, to enable both the PIL 1 Highway and the light rail transit (LRT) projects to proceed simultaneously.

“One project may take up to five or six years, and two will take 12 years. Penangites will have to wait a very long time for two important projects. But with a soft loan of say RM1 billion, the projects can be carried out concurrently,” he added.

He expressed hope the necessary approvals for the components of the PTMP can be obtained by the year-end.

PTMP includes roads, light-rail transit and other modes of transport crisscrossing the state.

It will be carried out by SRS Consortium, a project delivery partner which will reclaim three islands south of Penang island to finance PTMP.