KUALA LUMPUR, March 2 — Penang needs a third link connecting its island half to the mainland to further unlock its economic potential, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said today, after critics renewed debate over a planned undersea tunnel there.

Lim, who has repeatedly faced flak over the tunnel, reiterated that the 7.2km undersea tunnel linking tourist hotspot Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam will help ease traffic woes on the land-strapped island besides acting as a catalyst to open up the northern region on the mainland.

“If Seberang Perai Tengah can be served by the first bridge and Seberang Perai Selatan by the second bridge, why should SPU be left out?” he asked in a statement, using the Malay initials for north Seberang Perai.

Penang gained a second bridge yesterday, 29 years after the first was built in 1985.

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Formally opened by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, the 24km-long bridge named Sultan Abdul Halim Mua'dzam Shah Bridge after Malaysia's present King, is expected to ease traffic on the first bridge by about 25 per cent.

Linking Batu Maung on the island to Batu Kawan on the mainland, the second bridge is also expected to drive development into Penang's rural southern tip.

Lim questioned why his critics in BN-friendly media were opposed to the Pakatan Rakyat state government's plan to develop Penang.

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He noted that the northern Seberang Perai region was controlled by the rival Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, with its anchor party Umno occupying two out of the three parliamentary seats and six of nine state seats.

“By building the tunnel to develop SPU, the Penang state government is demonstrating that every Penangite is treated fairly including Umno strongholds,” he said.

Lim has been under fire by consumer activist groups and the state BN over the undersea tunnel which is part of a RM6.3 billion infrastructure project to disperse traffic on the island.

Penang BN had also objected the project and questioned the “speed” with which the project was awarded to a joint venture company, Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd.

The state government had held several dialogue sessions with the non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the public over the whole project.

Lim had said the contract for the project is yet to be finalised but all the input from the NGOs and public will be taken into consideration before the deal was inked.

The project is expected to complete by 2025 and to complement the first and second Penang Bridge.