Bukit Kukus paired road hits snag before mishap, stop work order to contractor on collapsed beams

Precarious situation: The collapsed beams along Jalan Tun Sardon which fell and broke after being knocked down.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/10/14/stop-work-road-contractor-told-dosh-to-look-at-work-sites-procedures-after-mishap/?jwsource=twi

Stop work, road contractor told

BALIK PULAU: The contractor of the 600m elevated road project linking Jalan Bukit Kukus to Jalan Tun Sardon here has been issued with a stop-work order.

The order came following a mishap on the site where 14 concrete beams measuring 25m each fell onto a slope in Jalan Tun Sardon on Thursday.

Eleven beams broke apart in the 8.30pm incident. However, no injuries were reported.

It is learnt that a crane operator accidentally knocked down one of the beams laid on the ground, causing others to fall onto the slope like dominoes.

Penang Department of Occupa­tional Safety and Health (DOSH) director Mohd Rosdee Yaacob said the contractor had been instructed to be present at the DOSH office tomorrow for a meeting.

“We are reviewing the standard operating procedures at the work site.

“For now, the contractor is not allowed to load and unload other concrete beams,” he said yesterday

Mohd Rosdee said his officers were only sent to the site on Friday as they were not immediately informed of the incident.

State Works Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the contractor had been told to prepare a full report for DOSH.

He said the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) would also initiate an internal inquiry tomorrow.

The construction of the elevated road, together with the upgrading of a 1.1km stretch along Lebuhraya Thean Teik and a 1.5km stretch along Lebuh Bukit Jambul, is a MBPP project costing RM275.6mil and is scheduled for completion early next year.

The three segments are part of the project for the construction of the RM545mil alternative road – Jalan Bukit Kukus – to help ease traffic snarls along Jalan Paya Terubong, which is an arterial road linking Bayan Baru, Balik Pulau and Air Itam.

The construction works involve linking Lebuhraya Thean Teik in Bandar Baru Air Itam and Lebuh Bukit Jambul in Penang via Jalan Bukit Kukus, building an elevated U-turn along Lebuh Bukit Jambul for those who want to make a turn and go back to Relau. - The Star

Paired road already hits snag

Slow path ahead: The elevated road near Jalan Paya Terubong in Penang will not be ready for another two years.

GEORGE TOWN: Work on the RM545mil Jalan Bukit Kukus paired road project has hit a snag even before the construction mishap in Jalan Tun Sardon.

The completion date on the project, an alternative road linking Lebuhraya Thean Teik in Bandar Baru Air Itam to Lebuh Bukit Jambul, will be delayed by a year till mid-2020 due to unforeseen obstacles during construction.

State Works, Utilities and Flood Mitigation committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari, in describing the project as “very complicated”, said it was constructed by three parties as a cost-saving measure.

“The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) will construct 2.8km of the stretch, while PLB Land Sdn Bhd and Geo Valley Sdn Bhd will construct the remaining 1.4km and 0.7km respectively,” he said.

Zairil said while the three parties involved in the works faced various issues resulting in the delay.

“For example, the MBPP which is working on the 2.8km stretch costing RM275.6mil, faced a delay due to land acquisition issues, realignment and relocation of cables.

“The project is 69% done and to be completed by early 2020.

“PLB Land faced issues with big rocks and boulders. The RM150mil section has progressed 36% and scheduled for mid-2020,” he said.

Zairil said that Geo Valley faced legal issues as the residents affected by their section of the project took up matters with the Appeals Board and the case was pending.

The RM120mil stretch by Geo Valley is now 18% completed.

“Once PLB and Geo Valley complete their portions, we will connect them accordingly,” he said.

It was earlier reported that the contractor of the 600m elevated road project linking Jalan Bukit Kukus to Jalan Tun Sardon was issued with a stop-work order.

The order came after a mishap on the site where 14 concrete beams measuring 25m fell onto a slope in Jalan Tun Sardon on Thursday. No injuries were reported.

It is learnt that a crane operator accidentally knocked down one of the beams laid on the ground, causing others to fall onto the slope.

Paya Terubong assemblyman Yeoh Soon Hin hopes that there will be no further delays.

“About 60,000 vehicles use Jalan Paya Terubong daily to get to Bayan Lepas, and traffic congestion is bad during peak hours.

“I hope the project will be completed safely according to specifications and on schedule for the people to use,” he said.

Once the alternative route is completed, traffic is expected to see a reduction of at least 30%.

The new link will comprise a dual carriageway with a bicycle lane, walkway and LED street lights.

A small waterfall on the hill will also be retained and construction would go around the waterfall.

Last month, MBPP mayor Datuk Yew Tung Seang said the construction on the paired road would take up RM44.2mil of the council’s budget next year. - The Star by Lo Tern Chern


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China says: we can build High Speed Rail by 2020; Malaysia and Singapore push back deadline

Making connections: Liow (left) speaking with Liu Yunshan, secretary of the Secretariat of the Communist Party of China Central Committee. - By Patrick Lee The Star/Asia News Network

KUALA LUMPUR: China is confident that it can build the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) line by 2020.

China embassy’s economic and commercial counsellor Wu Zhengping expressed confidence that the original target date could be met – within certain parameters.

“Technically, it’s possible if Chinese companies are awarded the contract. We will be able to achieve that by 2020. We’ve still got five years,” he told The Star in an interview.

He was commenting on reports that the HSR line would not meet its original target date.

Wu pointed out that it took a mere three years to build the 1,318km Beijing-Shanghai HSR line, which was completed in 2010. It opened to the public in June 2011.

The 350km Kuala Lumpur-Singapore line is expected to cost about RM40bil while there are matters between Malaysia and Singapore which are expected to be ironed out by year end.

Wu said China was determined to build the line, adding that it would fall in with its plans to link Kunming to Singapore via some 2,700km of rail.

Calling it the “Pan-Asian Railway”, he indicated that this would cut through Laos, Thailand and Malaysia.

He added that not all of this railway might be high-speed lines, especially in Laos, which has rough, mountainous terrain.

Wu said the HSR traffic might not be enough to justify building such a line but spoke of an economic “spillover effect” if it were to happen.

Chinese companies here, he added, might even start to develop areas near the Singapore-Kuala Lumpur line.

“If China is awarded the contract (in Malaysia), we’ll encourage Chinese companies to locate their factories and firms along the railway line,” he said.

He also said there were plans to build high-speed train cars in Malaysia should China be given the contract.

Asked what would China do if Chinese companies were unable to win the HSR bid, Wu said Malaysia had given assurance that this would be “open, fair and transparent”.

Transport Minister Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, who is in Beijing on an official visit, said while he welcomed the offer from China, the open tender would only be called after details of the project had been thrashed out between Malaysia and Singapore.

He said a memorandum bet­ween the two countries would be signed by end of this year, adding that it would then take another year to complete the technical study.

“By then, only we would know what is the actual period (needed to build the line).

“It is too early to say that the project can be completed by 2020 when we do not have the details yet,” he said.

Tell us: Which country would you like to get your fast rail from? 

 

Singapore, Malaysia push back deadline for high-speed rail link -
Reauters

SINGAPORE - Singapore and Malaysia have decided to push back an initial deadline of 2020 for the completion of a high-speed rail link between the wealthy city state and Kuala Lumpur, their prime ministers said on Tuesday, citing the complexity of the project.

The Southeast Asian neighbours said they hoped to reach agreement by the end of the year on a new timeline for the railway link, which will cut travel time between the cities to 90 minutes.

"We looked at the original timeline of 2020, and think it is not really realistic," Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong told a news conference, adding that the project was very challenging to carry out.

"We have to take a bit more time to do it well, but to do it without delay."

Singapore and Malaysia set a completion date of 2020 when they announced plans for the high-speed rail link in February 2013, but gave no estimate of the project cost.

Hailed at the time as a major breakthrough by some analysts, the announcement reflected an improvement in ties between the neighbours. Singapore was once part of Malaysia but they separated acrimoniously in 1965, clouding diplomatic and economic dealings for decades.

On Tuesday, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said construction of the link with the Malaysian capital would take five years, design one year and the tendering process another year. "We both decided that bilateral issues pertaining to the high-speed rail project will be settled by the end of the year," Najib said.