Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced yesterday that Penang Sentral is set to be part of the proposed Penang Light Rail Transit (LRT) project, making it one of the major alignments under the estimated RM10 billion project.
Penang Sentral is the main transportation hub for the state of Penang, as well as the northern area of Peninsular Malaysia.
While adjustments in the alignments are more likely to happen, just like how the line from Bayan Lepas will be extended to Tanjong Bungah instead of ending in Komtar, the railway scheme, as discussed and agreed principally by the Federal Government, remains unchanged for now.
The Bayan Lepas – Tanjong Bungah alignment falls under Phase One.
“We were informed that by sticking with the initial proposed scheme, the project can very likely kickstart faster, and if it happens otherwise, new and thorough research needs to be done again,” Chow said after attending the DAP Chinese New Year Open House in Bukit Mertajam yesterday.
Based on previous reports, it is learned that the proposed LRT route is expected to cover Bayan Lepas-Komtar-Tanjung Bungah-Air Itam-Butterworth-Kepala Batas-Simpang Ampat.
With the latest announcement of Penang Sentral being part of the project, Chow is optimistic that the proposed cross-channel link, connecting the island and mainland, will be a reality under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s watch.
He also said the proposed line connecting the island and the mainland would be through an elevated railway.
Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on May 6, 2023, broke the good news that the Federal Government had principally agreed to fund Penang’s first LRT project.
MRT Corp (Mass Rapid Transit Corporation) is the project manager.
In a related development, Chow said a delegation from MRT Corp was in Penang a few weeks ago to provide an update on their latest efforts about the LRT project.
“They informed us that the next step is to present a Cabinet paper with comprehensive details about the project to the relevant ministries, namely the Transport and Finance Ministries.
“The Cabinet paper will encompass details such as the depots and their locations, the proposed alignments, and many other technical studies that were discussed between the state government and MRT Corp,” Chow added.
Source: Buletin Mutiara
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