GEORGE TOWN: The chief minister yesterday said that preliminary work on the second Penang bridge has begun.

Asked to comment on the progress of the bridge after a stop-work order on the sea dredging for the bridge was lifted last month, Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon said: "We are not building a bridge over a small river or drain. It will take a while."

He was speaking after B. Braun Medical Industries Sdn Bhd announced a RM450 million reinvestment in Penang.

UEM Construction Sdn Bhd has named port builder and bridge construction firm China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd as the main contractor for the project.

The China-based company has already brought in a global positioning system (GPS) and automatic identification equipment to enable the Department of Environment and other parties involved to keep track of where the mud is dumped.
The New Straits Times has learnt that it will be dumped in an area about 75km off Pulau Kendi, an island off Gertak Sanggul on the southern tip of Penang Island.

The 24km-long second Penang bridge will be Penang's third cross-channel link after the ferry service and current Penang Bridge.

It is also learnt that a new design has been submitted to the special task force for the implementation of the second crossing, since two viewing platforms in the original proposal have been scrapped.

source: The New Straits Times