Clarify how RM6.3bil mega project was awarded to firm, Guan Eng urged

 Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng has been urged to clarify how a RM6.3bil mega project was awarded to a company that was only formed after the closing date for the submission of proposal.

Activist Ong Eu Soon said the closing date for the submission of proposal for major road and tunnel projects in Penang was June 2012.

However, checks with the Companies Commission showed thatConsortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd, which was awarded the project, was only set up on July 5 last year, he added.

Consortium Zenith BUCG is an RM2 company.

“In the interest of the public, Lim must explain how it is possible for a company that was set up after the closing date to submit a proposal and be awarded the project,” said Ong, who is former Aliran executive council member.

The deadline for the submission of proposal, he added, was June 2012 as stated in the pre-qualification exercise document prepared by the Penang State Economic Planning Unit for the bidders.

On Jan 27, Lim had unveiled the RM6.3bil road expansion plan comprising a 4.6km bypass linking Air Hitam to Lim Chong Eu Expressway, 6.5km tunnel linking Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam, 12km Tanjung Bungah-Telok Bahang paired road and a 4.2km stretch between Gurney Drive and Lim Chong Eu Expressway, bypassing the city centre.

Ong said that the following day, Lim had announced an RM14mil road expansion plan between Jalan Bukit Minyak and Alma stretching a mere 1.5km, which he claimed was the “most expensive road expansion project since independence”.

Lim had on Feb 28 confirmed that the Jalan Bukit Minyak-Alma road expansion project was awarded to Consortium Zenith BUCG.

Ong said the tunnel project would also adversely affect plans to make Penang Port a transhipment hub like Singapore.

“The tunnel will also crush Penangites' expectation to restore the island's free port status if Pakatan Rakyat were to succeed in capturing Putrajaya,” he said.

He also questioned why the timeframe to complete the tunnel project was set between 2023 and 2025 while the three road expansion projects were scheduled for completion by 2017.

“Why give the developer a 10-year grace period before building the proposed tunnel?” he said.

In a joint statement issued on March 3, both Penang State SecretaryDatuk Farizan Darus and State Financial officer Datuk Mokhtar Mohd Jaithad said that the estimated cost for the project was RM8bil.

Farizan is also the state procurement board chairman while Mokhtar is the technical and finance committee chairman.