GEORGE TOWN, July 25 — The Penang government has proposed working with federal agency, Prasarana Malaysia Berhad, to introduce water taxies or catamarans in the state.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state is blessed with hundreds of miles of waterfront which can be utilised for transportation.

"I was about to raise this during my speech in Parliament yesterday, but I was short of time... I wanted to talk about introducing water taxis in Penang as a mode of public transport,” he said.

He said Prasarana, which had taken over the Penang ferry service, will be an ideal partner to collaborate with to introduce water taxis.

He hoped that there will be a new collaboration with Prasarana to improve the ferry services in Penang and introduce new water taxi services.

"We hope the federal government will reconsider introducing water taxis in Penang and we are also willing to share a feasibility study on water transport with the federal government,” he said.

He explained that the feasibility study was conducted by Halcrow previously.

The introduction of water taxies or catamarans for public transport around Penang island was part of the earlier drafts for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

The PTMP is a comprehensive infrastructure project involving highways and LRT lines for the state to alleviate congestion in the island state.