History
In August 2006, the Malaysian federal government unveiled a plan to build the Penang Second Bridge in the Ninth Malaysia Plan. On 12 November 2006, the groundbreaking ceremony for the new Penang Second Bridge was performed by the fifth Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
After months of soil survey work and test piling work, CHEC and UEM announced that the project was on track for completion in 2011. Construction work was expected to begin in January 2008.
On April 2008, the government announced that the project was to be delayed by 9 months due to land acquisition, design issues, and also the rising costs of building materials. Newly elected Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng proposed a toll discount for any delays on the project and also expressed disappointment regarding the construction delay.
On July 2008, Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi reported that the loan for the bridge risked being withdrawn if the shareholder agreement between UEM Builders Bhd and its joint-venture partner CHEC was not inked by August 2008. It was reported that there were disagreements between the two parties on the apportionment of the cost of building the bridge although the issue was expected to be resolved quickly due to UEM having a variation on the price on its portion.
On 8 November 2008, the construction of the Penang Second Bridge by CHEC finally commenced.
On 3 October 2012, media reports indicated that the bridge was 84% complete, and that the bridge was due to be completed approximately two months ahead of the deadline of September 2013.
On 20 April 2013, the final closure of the cable stayed bridge at the main navigational span of the Penang Second Bridge has been completed and thus signifies the completion of the construction of the bridge and physically connecting Batu Maung on the Island and Batu Kawan on the Mainland.
On 30 April 2013, the sixth Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak became the country’s first leader to use the 24 km Penang Second Bridge to cross from the island to the mainland to attend a function in Kepala Batas, Seberang Perai.
Read more about this topic: Penang Second Bridge
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