Penang has requested for a date to meet with Works Minister Fadillah Yusof to discuss the approval to build a third bridge to link Gurney Drive with Butterworth.

"The purpose of the meeting is related to a roadmap for the state to obtain approval from the federal government for the third bridge, which we want to implement by 2027," Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said in a statement today.

He was responding to the statement by Fadillah yesterday that the ministry has yet to receive any document related to Penang's request to build a third bridge.

The ministry has also asked Penang to submit the RM305 million feasibility studies it conducted on the tunnel and three highways on the island.

Lim said the state government planned to increase connectivity by widening its economic opportunities and to bring balanced development between the island and mainland.

But the construction of the third link needs the approval of the federal government, he said.

"This approval is difficult to obtain as every letter sent by the state government to the prime minister has not been answered, until the minister Fadillah (photo) raised the issued himself," Lim said.

Lim said Fadillah was aware that there was a plan for an undersea tunnel linking Gurney Drive with Butterworth, and that the cost of RM3.6 billion would be paid by the state government.

He reminded Fadillah that the concession to build the tunnel had been awarded to Consortium Zenith-BUCG via an open tender.

This is despite the fact that the construction, management and implementation cost of the tunnel is higher than the third bridge, and that toll would be collected for 30 years.

State to pay for third bridge construction

"The Penang government wants to seek approval to build the third bridge, at an estimated cost of RM2 billion, which will be fully paid by the state," Lim said.

"With the approval, the state government will be able to save cost and pay for the third bridge, while toll charges will no longer be imposed on the public," added Lim, who is also the MP for Bagan.

Lim insisted that the plan for the tunnel was driven by the need to develop Seberang Perai Utara – which is rather marginalised – although the area is an Umno stronghold.

The plan also comes after Seberang Perai Central was linked to the island via the first Penang Bridge in 1984, while Seberang Perai Selatan got its link via the second brige, named Sultan Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah Bridge, in 2014.

Lim estimates that the traffic on the two bridges would be congested in 12 years.

He reminded Fadillah that the state has yet to pay the contractor for the tunnel, adding that the request to build the third bridge is to replace the tunnel.

"Once we have the approval from the ministry, we will begin work on the third bridge, after the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) or Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) is approved," Lim said.

"We cannot carry out a feasibility study because the cost is too high, so we asked that an approval in principle be given first," he added.

"We are prepared to discuss all these when we meet," Lim said.