Penang Monorail

The Penang Monorail is a proposed monorail line to be constructed under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). It will be located on Penang Island. Two lines will be built, with possible extensions to Province Wellesley in the future. The 37km system is expected to cost RM 1.6 billion. [http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Friday/Nation/13MONO.xml/Article/ Melewar, Putera Capital bid for Penang monorail project] ] . After the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the project has been postponed indefinitely, which generated mixed reactions from NGOs, and politicians.cite news|title=Penang's monorail and PORR projects: Not all dismayed by move| url= http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Saturday/National/2279832/Article/index_html| author= Sharanjit Singh | accessdate=2008-06-29| date=2008-06-28| publisher=New Straits Times]

tations

The names of all the stations on the monorail are still mostly unknown, although the main stops are confirmed. The Red Line will run between Tanjung Tokong and the Penang International Airport via Scotland Road, Jalan Air Itam and the Penang State Mosque. The Green Lane will run between Paya Terubong and Weld Quay Terminal, via Jalan Air Itam, Jalan Dato' Keramat, and Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar). The interchange will be situated at Jalan Air Itam.

ee also

*Monorails in Malaysia
*Kuala Lumpur Monorail
*Public transport in Kuala Lumpur
*List of rapid transit systems

Project Status

Bidding Phase

The tender for the Project has been closed since November 16, 2007. Some of the contenders for the project is Melewar Industrial Group Bhd (MIG) and Putera Capital Bhd.

On January 10, 2008, the government announced the winner of the tender, which is a consortium led by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd. (MRCB) The members of the consortium includes Scomi Engineering Bhd and Penang Port Commission. According to The Edge, a Malaysian business newspaper, Malaysian Resources Corporation will build the monorail infrastructure, while Scomi Engineering will provide consultant expertise in building the infrastructure and Penang Port Commission have the land on to which the main hub will operate. The tender cost is expected to be at MYR 1.6 billion. MRCB also operated a joint venture with Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd to build the inter-modal transportation hub called Penang Sentral. [ [http://www.theedgedaily.com/cms/content.jsp?id=com.tms.cms.article.Article_66beb0ce-cb73c03a-39060b00-f09b86bd MRCB lands monorail job] ] The Letter of Intent was awarded to MRCB and Penang Port by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd on January 15 2008, although the final solution of the lines and stations is not out yet [ [http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Wednesday/Latest/mono15-2.xml/Article/index_html MRCB/Penang Port group gets monorail LOI] ]

Re-bidding by Other Parties

On April 2008, Melawar Industrial Group proposed to the opposition led state government a MYR2.2 billion railway solution which operate on a single line and run on three different loops from locations like Gelugor, Farlim in Air Itam and Gurney Drive into the city. The system will feature steel structures and will run near the state's heritage buildings. In response, the state government will consider such proposal and may carry out the project by themselves instead of waiting for the federal government. [cite news| title=Penang mulls monorail option| author=Sharanjit Singh and Marina Emmanuel|publisher=Business Times| url=http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/Friday/Frontpage/monor.xml/Article/]

Post-postponement

After the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, which was tabled in Parliament on June 26 2008, the monorail project, along with the Penang Outer Ring Road has been postponed indefinitely.

References