The road, which rises to its highest point of 59.4m from the pile caps, links Bandar Baru Air Itam and Relau and hugs the slopes on the southern reaches of the Penang Hill range.

Officially called the Paya Terubong Paired Road, it spans 5.5km, with the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) building a 3.3km stretch.

The remaining 1.4km and 800m stretches are being built by developer PLB Land Sdn Bhd and Geo Valley Sdn Bhd, respectively.

State infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the city council’s 3.3km stretch was 96% complete, pending final work on a 1.6km stretch on the main route and a 500m flyover linking Jalan Tun Sardon and Balik Pulau.

Zairil said the road was supposed to be completed last year, but work was delayed due to the movement control order (MCO), five extensions of time (EOTs) due to land acquisition issues, slope stabilisation work, the relocation of utility lines as well as landslide and blasting permits.

Construction work on the road began on Jan 14, 2016, by main contractor Syarikat Yuta Maju Sdn Bhd. The project was put on hold on Oct 19, 2018, following a landslide that killed nine workers, and resumed on Jan 28 the following year.

The cost of the road is RM545 million, with the city council forking out RM275 million. PLB Land will spend RM150 million for its stretch and Geo Valley will spend RM120 million, a state assembly reply showed.

Zairil said despite the delays, the city council’s cost to build its portion of the road remained at RM275 million.

Zairil added that as of now, PLB’s road-building progress was at 15% and Geo Valley, at 12%. He said Geo Valley’s portion was stalled due to an objection hearing, while PLB Land, as a white knight contractor, would build according to its cash flow.