The Malacca government does not rule out the possibility of building a bridge across the Straits of Malacca linking Malacca and Dumai, Sumatra, the state assembly was told today.

NONE Chief Minister Idris Haron ( left ) said if the bridge were to come to fruition, it would boost economic, tourism, trade and transportation activities on both sides of the bridge.

However, the state government does not have any special allocation and plan for the project which was raised several times since it was mooted in 1996, he said when replying to a question from Goh Leong San (DAP-Duyong).

He said factors like environmental impact, obstruction to a shipping route and the number of vehicles allowed to use the bridge would be analysed before the project could take off the ground.

To a question from Khoo Poay Tiong (DAP-Ayer Keroh) on Indonesia’s response to the project, Idris said no serious discussions had been held to date.

The RM44 billion project, which was proposed by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to former Indonesian president Suharto in 1996, entails building a 48.7km bridge from Teluk Gong in Malacca to Pulau Rupat in Sumatra, and a 71.2km road from Rupat to Dumai.

- Bernama