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Transport ministry wants land swap deal with Penang govt, says Liow

Transport ministry wants land swap deal with Penang govt, says Liow

Liow Tiong Lai directs ministry official to meet Penang state secretary to resolve proposed acquisition of a piece of ministry land by the state government.

liow-tiong-laiGEORGE TOWN: The transport ministry

is keen on negotiating with the Penang government over a piece of ministry land which has been earmarked by the state for its three main roads project.

Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai said he was ready for a land swap deal for the piece of land belonging to the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC), a body under the ministry.

According to a Penang government official, the land, measuring 7,693 sq ft, is at Bandar Jelutong, next to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

Liow said: “I have directed the RAC chairman and ministry secretary-general Saripuddin Kasim to engage with the Penang state secretary for a land swap between the federal and state governments.

“The ministry is fully supportive of resolving the issue since it is an administrative one. If there are problems, (Penang Deputy Chief Minister II) P Ramasamy can bring it up with me. I regret that he wants to make it an issue,” Liow told FMT.

On Tuesday, Ramasamy said he was facing hurdles in acquiring the land from the ministry.

He said while other federal ministries had shown willingness to negotiate with the state government, the transport ministry was very “reluctant”.

The RAC has a total of 12,638ha (30,755acres) of land, including alienated land and reserve lands, throughout the country, according to its website.

The proposed “three main roads” stretch from Air Itam to the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (5.7km); Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang (10.53km); and Jalan Pangkor-Gurney Drive junction to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (4.1km).

The project is expected to begin next year, as federal environment regulators have already given it the nod.

It is part of the undersea tunnel project, a proposed 7.2km crossing which will connect George Town’s Pangkor Road with Bagan Ajam in Butterworth. It is scheduled to begin in 2023.

The tunnel’s feasibility study, often a topic of contention between the Barisan Nasional and Penang government leaders, was reported to be 95.9% complete in December.

The Penang government had said the tunnel was low priority and could take off later, after the three main highways were completed.

Penang: Transport ministry refusing to let go of land for road project


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