RM46bil PTMP needed to ensure Penang’s health, says Zairil

Penang exco Zairil Khir Johari has urged Gerakan to get approval for the loan guarantee for a 30-station LRT line from Komtar to Bayan Lepas.

GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government today shot down a call by Gerakan to suspend the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) given the Covid-19 pandemic.

It said the call showed the party had a “shallow” and shortsighted view of effects of major infrastructure projects on the economy after the pandemic.

State infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said Gerakan had failed to understand that with Covid-19, the country and the state were not just facing a health crisis, but also an economic one.

He said projects such as the PTMP were needed to push economic recovery efforts as it would create new jobs and raise domestic investments in the local economy and later boost foreign investments as well.

“The fact is that the provision of medical care, social aid and economic uplifting are all equally important,” he said in a statement.

Zairil said the PTMP – where rail lines, highways and other transport infrastructures are to be built – was considered to be a “key recovery driver” by the state’s Socio Economic Recovery Consultative Council in addressing economic concerns after the pandemic.

He said Gerakan should take a leaf from finance minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz who had said that large-scale infrastructure projects should be prioritised to stimulate the economy.

Zairil said hence, the new Perikatan Nasional component party should urge Putrajaya to reinstate funding for major infrastructure projects in Penang, such as the Penang Hill cable car project and stand guarantee for the loan for a 30-station LRT line from Komtar to Bayan Lepas.

Recently, Gerakan deputy president Oh Tong Keong told Bernama that with the Covid-19 numbers at a high level, the Penang government ought to focus all its efforts on fighting the pandemic instead of carrying out construction projects such as highways, undersea tunnels and reclamation of islands.