GEORGE TOWN, July 2 — Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC) has proposed a bridge alternative to the undersea tunnel linking Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam on the mainland.

CZC senior executive director Datuk Zarul Ahmad Mohd Zulkifli said they are finalising the feasibility studies for the undersea tunnel component of the overall RM6.3 billion project.

“We are at 96 per cent now so once completed, we will submit it to the state by September or October and we will provide the bridge as an option to the undersea tunnel,” he said in an interview with the Malay Mail today.

He said the state will then decide whether it wants the bridge or the tunnel.

“We have included the bridge as an option for free so the state can look at the pros and cons of both tunnel and bridge,” CZC’s another senior executive director Datuk Lee Chee Hoe said.

He said there are additional considerations with the bridge, such as the height to allow larger ships to pass the channel.

A bridge could also accommodate a light rail line beneath it, he said.

Zarul acknowledged that the feasibility studies and detailed design for the tunnel were delayed due to “intense pressure” and controversy surrounding it over the last two years.

“It is because of the pressure, we had a slight delay in implementing our studies but now, once our studies passes the state’s independent consultant engineer, we should be able to present it to the state exco,” he said.

Later, in a press conference, he clarified that they have still to submit a detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) report for the tunnel.

“It will be very challenging to conduct the DEIA report,” he said.

The undersea tunnel was supposed to stretch about 7km and take motorists about eight to nine minutes to travel from one side to another.

Zarul said the question of a toll concession for the tunnel was also pending as there was now talks of making the route free.

“If there was no toll for the tunnel, then what will happen to the first and second bridge? Both of these have tolls,” he said.

When asked if there will be enough traffic, especially when usage on the second bridge was already low, Zarul pointed out that most of the traffic was in the north.

“The second bridge should have been built to connect to the northern side, there is more traffic coming from Kulim, Sungai Petani and Southern Thailand,” he said.

He and Lee said the tunnel will resolve congestion on the first bridge.

The second bridge connects Bayan Lepas on the island to Batu Kawan, the southern side of the mainland.

CZC is the contractor awarded the RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and three paired roads project.

The project encompassed three highway projects on the island, which is scheduled to start soon, and the tunnel which is scheduled for 2023.