Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow speaks to the press in George Town March 13, 2019. — Picture by Sayuti Zainudin

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 — The Penang state government has yet to obtain approval for the construction of the light rail transit (LRT) and Pan Island Link 1 (PIL 1) project, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said today.

He was responding to a news report by The Star, which had quoted unnamed sources claiming that both projects were set to begin construction in June 2020.

“The report is unsubstantiated as the Penang State Government has yet to obtain the approvals.

“Given such circumstances, we would want The Star to do the needful and take the necessary steps to rectify the mentioned report in order to spare the stakeholders of any further confusion,” he said in a statement here.

Chow, however, said the state government was currently at various stages of submission for approval its dealing with the federal government for both projects.

“We are confident of obtaining the sanctions in due course,” he said.

According to the news report, the LRT line comprised a monorail link, cable cars and water taxis to solve traffic congestion.

It begins from Komtar in the north-east region before ending at island B, one of the three man-made islands proposed under the Penang South Reclamation Scheme (PSR).

Meanwhile PIL 1 is a 19.5km highway project connecting Gurney Drive to the Penang International Airport.

Both projects are components of the RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and are expected to be funded by the sale of the islands.

The LRT and PIL 1 projects have in the past been met with severe opposition from NGOs such as Penang Forum and Penang Citizen Awareness Chant Group.