Penang govt to blame, says Lau
PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional should not be blamed as it is DAP’s own doing that “sabotaged” the Penang undersea tunnel project, said Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau (pic).
He added it began when the DAP-led Penang government failed to provide feasibility reports on the project, which were supposed to be completed by April 2016.
“You missed the deadline and in October 2017, the special purpose vehicle (SPV) said there is no more urgency to complete the reports.
“Based on the original timeline, the first phase of the project was supposed to start construction in the first quarter of 2015 and completed by this year.
“As of now, this first phase has not even started construction,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Despite the multiple delays in the reports and the construction starting date, he said the Penang government did not appear to have penalised the SPV.
He said when the project was awarded, a statement was issued stating that shareholders of the SPV consortium are China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC), Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG), Zenith Construction, Juteras Sdn Bhd and Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd.
“But today, CRCC, BUCG and Sri Tinggi were no longer listed as shareholders while Juteras Sdn Bhd is listed as winding up – leaving only one (Zenith Construction) out of the four shareholders in the agreement.
“Despite a material change of the financial and technical strength promised during the award and what it is now, the Penang government still does not appear to want to cancel the project or penalise the SPV,” he said.
“Even five years after the contract was awarded, the SPV still only has paid-up capital of RM26.5mil – way below the RM381mil minimum paid-up capital required by the Penang government to deliver the project.
“Meanwhile, the SPV is on course to make billions in two property projects valued at RM800mil and RM15bil respectively,” he said.
Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional Strategic Communications deputy director Datuk Eric See-To said the agreement shown to the media by Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng was different from the one MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong said was not stamped.
The agreement shown by Lim in a press conference on Friday was between the Penang state government with Consortium Zenith-BUCG; and not between the state and CRCC.
Previously, the Penang state government had shown a copy of a letter of support from the CRCC to prove that it is a party to the SPV awarded to undertake the undersea tunnel project.
On Tuesday, Dr Wee’s statement noted that the Acknowledgement of Commitment signed by the state government with CRCC was not a legally binding document and was hence not stamped.
Related Link:
Penang has enough roads and linkages, say activists - Nation
I was referring to three paired road projects, says Guan Eng - Nation ...
Ti slams Penang govt over lack of transparency - Nation
Related Posts
https://youtu.be/ssVkoxxvIAA https://youtu.be/JRGwMXwkm1c https://youtu.be/xbSZ55BNyQM In-depth query: A screen grab of t...
Cracks at Tanjung Bungah site began in June,
Commissioner of Inquiry told Expert panel: (From right) Yeo, Dr
Gue and Prof Ramli arr...
Filepic: PenangPropertyTalk Did the
Penang Govt do a "bait and switch" on the Penang people? That was the
question pose...
IJM hill clearing & Trehaus construction damaged nearby houses since 2014 must be mitigated quickly!
Behind BJ Cove houses at Lintang Bukit
Jambul 1 is an IJM Trehaus Project. Approximate Coordinates :
5°20'38.47"N,100°16'...
