.jpg "Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow speaks to the press regarding the new highway at Komtar July 13, 2018. u00e2u20acu201d Picture by Sayuti Zainudin")
GEORGE TOWN, Sept 13 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said today he will discuss the proposed Light Rail Transit (LRT) project with Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook and Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) officials next week.
He added that a meeting has been scheduled for September 18 in Putrajaya.
“I want to know, after two years, what they have done to our submission,” he said in a press conference at his office here.
Chow said the state government submitted an application to SPAD for a conditional approval of the proposed LRT line connecting Bayan Lepas to George Town back in 2016.
“We submitted it in March 2016 and we had two meetings in 2016,” he said.
Chow said there was no communication from SPAD after 2016 until the recent statement by the minister that the LRT might not be the best option for Penang.
“We will listen to what SPAD and the ministry proposes in the meeting,” he said.
He stressed that a team from the state will also attend the meeting to justify why the state opted for an LRT line instead of other modes of transport.
Last week, Loke said the RM8.4 billion LRT might not be the best option for Penang but that SPAD and the ministry will suggest other options to the state.
He said it is up to the state to decide on the other options presented.
The proposed 30km LRT link, with 27 stations, was to connect the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas to Komtar in George Town.
It is part of the state’s ambitious RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan.
