The Penang government will send a letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad requesting for RM10 billion to kick-start its light-rail transit (LRT) and a highway project on the island.

Penang ‘pleads’ for RM10 bil from PM to fund LRT
Predeep Nambiar
-August 1, 2019 4:44 PM
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government will send a letter to Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad requesting for RM10 billion to kick-start its light-rail transit (LRT) and a highway project on the island.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the transport secretariat has written a letter with all the details for the PM to consider and hoped the allocation would be given.

“We have written it in a very ‘rayuan’ (pleading) tone. We will be sending the letter this evening,” he said at a press conference in Komtar today.

The Penang government had earlier asked for the LRT and the 19.5km Pan Island Link 1 (PIL) highway to be fully funded by Putrajaya.




It said if this is done, the state can scale back on its reclamation of the islands to the south of the island. The land on these three reclaimed islands is to be sold to finance the LRT and highway projects.

The proposal to reduce the reclamation project came about after a recent meeting with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim who was concerned about the plight of some 800 fishermen who will be affected by the 3-island project.

The LRT is expected to cost RM8.5 billion and the PIL RM7.5 billion.

The LRT and PIL projects are part of the larger RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.

The Bayan Lepas LRT line is expected to run from Komtar to the airport while the PIL starts from Gurney Drive to the airport.

Both projects and the reclamation of the three islands have been approved by environmental regulators, with conditions.