2nd Penang Bridge: More ships for sea-deepening job

2nd Penang Bridge: More ships for sea-deepening job
By Marina Emmanuel Published: 2008/04/30 BUSINESS TIMES

CHINA Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC), the main contractor of the second Penang bridge, is awaiting the arrival of 18 more ships to complete its sea-deepening work for the project. It is learnt that the Beijing-based company, which has already brought in two dredging ships, is waiting for permits from local authorities to bring in the remaining vessels.
"It is likely to take CHEC four months to complete the deepening work, and the company remains confident that it can finish its 17km sea-portion of the bridge on schedule," industry sources told Business Times.

CHEC, which set up an office in Penang last year, has so far deployed 200 of its staff for the project.

The 24km second Penang bridge (of which 17km will be on water) linking Penang island and Seberang Prai, is the largest overseas project for CHEC in terms of value. Upon completion in 2011, the bridge is set to be the longest in Southeast Asia.

State-owned CHEC is a Fortune 500 company, with a global footprint via 15 companies and 20 overseas resident offices. It is a unit of China Communications Construction Co Ltd, China's top port builder. UEM Construction Sdn Bhd has named CHEC as its main contractor for the bridge project and a consortium, named CHEC-UEMC, has been formed. CHEC holds 51 per cent of the venture while UEM has the rest.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, who is also Finance Minister, is expected to chair a special meeting this week on the bridge project. It is learnt that Abdullah, together with Tan Sri Zaini Omar, who heads a taskforce on the project, is expected to sit down with the project's stakeholders which include Minister of Finance officials, UEM and CHEC to finalise cost and design issues.

Sources say that the government will allow no variation orders to the ceiling price of the bridge which has been set at RM4.3 billion. "CHEC has told the government that its 17km sea portion will cost RM2.3 billion and expressed its willingness to have independent parties verify its costing for the sea portion," they added.