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Sudden environment concerns behind half-bridge project

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad's abandonment of economic reasons for building the new Johor-Singapore bridge reminds us of his alleged 'shifting the goalposts' act in his water spat with Singapore.

Only three weeks ago, when he went to Johor Baru to witness the signing of the construction contract for this project, he cited economic opportunities offered by the introduction of shipping in the Tebrau Straits as the main reason for replacing the causeway with a bridge.

Prior to that, when this project was first proposed a few years ago, aesthetics was mentioned as the main reason the "beautiful new bridge would bring in more tourists and investments".

And now the latest it is the environment, not economics that has prompted Malaysia to build this project.

"There (are) no economic interests ... the causeway has prevented the water from flowing freely in the Tebrau Straits, causing it to be dirty, ... we need the water to flow freely again, so leisure boats can go back and forth without having to take a long way," so said Mahathir during the launching of the construction work in Johor Baru on Aug 20, 2003.

Mahathir's statement is quite a negation of his long-aired conviction that this project would bring economic benefits to Johor.

And so, the main thrust for this project has shifted from aesthetics to shipping to the environment. What has caused this phenomenon of moving targets? The answer is simple. Mahathir's previous rationale has been debunked as fallacy.

One wonders what Mahathir will say when the environmental factor is also debunked. And that is exactly what we are going to do: look into the environmental factor.

Is the causeway the cause of pollution in the straits? Any pedestrian who utilises the causeway frequently would be able to testify that he does not see any sign of pollution in the waters.

The signs of pollution are visible along the waterfront of Johor Baru city when the tide recedes and the seabed is exposed. The darkened seabed bears testimony to decades of pollution arising from discharge of untreated sewerage into the straits.

Hence, the lack of a sewerage treatment system for the city centre of Johor Baru is the real culprit of water pollution, not the causeway. No amount of talks can alter this fact.

If Mahathir is truly concerned about pollution, he should have been more concerned of the ongoing seafront development known as the Danga Bay Project which is a massive urban development covering 560 ha and stretching over three estuaries several kilometres west of the causeway.

As substantial reclamation is entailed and the fill material used so far is earth, this project is potentially a major source of pollution in the straits.

Ironically, Mahathir officiated the ground-breaking ceremony for this very project on the same day (Aug 20) that he launched the bridge construction when he declared pollution of the straits as the sole cause for wanting to replace the causeway with a bridge.

Equally disturbing as a potential source of major pollution in the straits is the planned reclamation of a seafront area covering 300 ha east of the causeway. Hence in due course, we should expect the channel to be substantially narrower and the water dirtier, irrespective of whether the link is by bridge or by causeway.

That said, a bridge is preferable to a causeway, if all other conditions are equal. For one thing, water can flow more freely and pleasure boats can sail under the link, as Mahathir rightly pointed out. But the problem is with "other conditions" they are not only unequal, but so much unequal that the preferable option is very obvious.

The present causeway is the easy winner anytime due mainly to the high costs of its replacement and the inconvenience of the elevated bridge which entails steep slopes and longer crossing. Let us look at the bridge structure first.

For purpose of easier reasoning, let us assume the project will be a straight bridge that spans the full width of the channel, in co-operation from Singapore.

Let us keep the present proposed elevation of 25 metres and assume the elevation peaks near the mid-point of the channel. Then the gradient of the bridge on the Singapore side will have to be in excess of five percent.

This is not a comfortable slope for bumper-to-bumper driving in traffic jams, which are expected to remain even after the bridge is built. Such a bridge is then prone to frequent traffic accidents which would in turn be a new source of traffic jams.

The new bridge crossing will be lengthened to 2km from the present 1km-long causeway crossing, as the proposed Johor Baru terminal is located more than 1km away from the present checkpoint.

For thousands of frequent pedestrian users of the causeway, this additional walking distance could be quite a torment, especially under scorching sun. To motorists, the thought of having to endure 2km of bumper-to-bumper driving on a slope may be a new deterrent.

Next, the cost. The project cost has suddenly jumped to RM2.26 billion from RM1.1 billion, which was the figure announced when Mahathir witnessed the signing of the construction agreement only three weeks ago.

The casualness with which figures of billions are flashed around are shocking, to say the least. True, a few billions may not mean very much to the top leaders, as they may be accustomed to thinking in terms of billions when pondering on mega projects. But to the ordinary people, these figures are huge fortunes that can alter the course of life of millions of people, depending how it is utilised.

If RM2.26 billion is used to build low-cost houses, we can build 100,000 units and provide free housing for 500,000 have-nots. If used as revolving fund on low-cost housing, we can help more than a million low-income people to live in their own houses.

How does that usage compare to that for building a bridge, the only benefit of which (according to the PM) is to accord the opportunity to some well-to-do individuals to sail their leisure boats under the bridge?

We understand that more than half of the RM2.26 billion will be spent for building the new customs, immigration and quarantine (CIQ) complex which, together with the bridge, forms integral parts of the southern gateway project.

The great irony is that when Mahathir launched the construction of this project through video conferencing, he was actually in the midst of officiating the opening of the Johor Customs Tower (Malaysia's tallest customs building), which is situated only 3km away from the proposed CIQ.

And so we have the unique feat of the PM simultaneously officiating for two great customs buildings while opening Malaysia's tallest custom building, he was at the same time launching the construction of Malaysia's biggest custom complex a stone's throw away (Malaysia Boleh!).

To foreign visitors, this must be a terribly impressive scenario, for why should a country embark on a building spree for massive customs buildings if it is not to accommodate an explosive expansion of the Customs Department to cope with an explosive increase in foreign trade? Malaysia's economy must be growing at a flying pace!

As further illustration of Malaysia's limitless capacity to create unutilised building space, one needs only to go over to the Second Link nearby. Above the motorway at the checkpoint, huge office space was built that could accommodate 1,000 office staff, but five years into the operation of this terminal, only a small fraction of this space is utilised. Needless to say, the checkpoint underneath looks deserted during certain public holidays.

One cannot help but wonder what motivated Mahathir to build the massive CIQ. A clue is found in his speech at the ground-breaking ceremony at the Danga Bay project on Aug 20. Praising the huge project as fitting enhancement to Malaysia's image, Mahathir stressed the necessity of impressing foreign visitors with development that reflected our high achievement, so that they would not feel Malaysia was backward when compared with their countries.

Keeping in mind the highly visible massive terminal building on the Singapore end of the causeway, dare we think that Mahathir wanted to build something that would at least match if not outshine that Singapore terminal? Dare we think that Mahathir was not in the least concerned whether there was a functional need for such a building?

Although I do not believe that the factor of pollution or traffic congestion or tourism were the genuine reasons behind Mahathir's motivation to build this project, these issues are nevertheless legitimate concerns for which we must seek improvement.

And if Mahathir still has the welfare of the people at heart, he should stop construction of this project, and instead, spend a fraction of the RM2.26 billion to undertake the following measures:

1) Install sewerage treatment system for the city of Johor Baru to stop the discharge of untreated sewerage to the sea. That will effectively cut off the source of pollution in the straits.

2) Allocate more manpower at the checkpoint to ensure all immigration booths are opened during peak hours, and implement electronic smart card system for commuters. These measures alone will largely eliminate the daily queues.

3) Plan for expansion of the checkpoint with additional booths. Construct them when necessary.

4) Develop tourist attractions of international standards in the state. At the moment there is none.

5) And finally, spend the balance of the RM2.26 billion on low-cost housing, and that will go a long way towards achieving full house ownership for the lower income people of Johor.

It will be seen that building a straight bridge with the CIQ is already massive squandering, hence building a "crooked half bridge" is a double crime - sheer madness cum massive squandering.

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