GEORGE TOWN, Nov 18 — Construction works for the Mutiara Line LRT project is scheduled to begin in January next year as planned without any delays, state exco Zairil Khir Johari told the state legislative assembly today.

The Tanjung Bungah assemblyman said construction works will continue as planned even during the Chinese New Year period in February and Hari Raya Aidilfitri in March.

“Construction cannot be postponed due to the very tight timeline required to meet the project’s targeted completion in December 2031,” he said in response to an oral question by Air Putih assemblyman Lim Guan Eng.

He added that any delay in meeting project milestones could trigger contractual penalty clauses.

He said the implementation of the traffic management plan (TMP) will be arranged during festive seasons to ensure that traffic flow and road-user safety are not compromised especially with the expected increase in traffic during that period.

The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has required that the project developer, MRT Corp (MRTC) prepare a TMP for each location of the 20 planned stations along the route between George Town and Permatang Damar Laut, he said.

“The detailed TMP prepared by MRTC was approved by the local authority on October 14 this year,” he said.

He said the construction works for the LRT officially commenced when the main civil works contractor for Package One, SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd (SRS), received the notice to proceed on July 15 this year.

He said SRS has identified three hotspot locations that will be severely affected by the LRT construction, namely Magazine Road, the junction in front of Sunny Point, Batu Uban and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah in the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

“The TMP is now being implemented in stages according to location to address unavoidable traffic congestion caused by construction activities along the affected roads,” he said.

Zairil said the MRTC will implement mitigation measures to minimise impacts on existing traffic, ensure smooth vehicular movement, and enhance traffic flow efficiency in key areas throughout the construction of the LRT project.

“MRTC will also provide alternative routes and traffic diversions as part of the approved TMP, which will be reviewed and improved monthly for future planning,” he said.

He advised road users to refer to the Mutiara Line project website and social media channels for TMP updates and traffic announcements.

He said they can also check navigation apps such as Waze for real-time traffic information when planning their journeys.

“Implementation of the TMP is expected to be fully completed by 2030,” he said.