The Penang government was rapped for its 'overzealousness' to spend RM1.02 billion to build the Penang Outer Ring Road (Porr) when it could use the money to construct several inner ring roads that could have reduced traffic congestion in the city.

"The state government clearly lacks farsighted thinking," Penang DAP organising secretary Danny Law Heng Kiang told malaysiakini .

He said building more inner ring roads would provide better traffic management and reduce congestion for now and years to come.

Instead of a quick-fix solution, he said the state government should look at the larger picture and draw a comprehensive plan to construct inner ring roads that would link most roads in the city.

By creating link roads, he said vehicles could utilise all roads to travel within the city and this would reduce congestion along major roads.

He added that since massive traffic congestion in the city only happens during peak periods, it would be a costly blunder to spend to build Porr, which would only be operational in a decade's time.

"By that time, the usefulness of Porr would be redundant The state government should instead seek more federal funds to build inner ring roads," he said.

Foreign investors

Porr's proposed developer, the Peninsular Metro-Works Sdn Bhd - Peninsular Island Properties Joint Venture is expected to secure huge bank loans to finance the project.

It would be the costliest highway to be built on Penang island and has been submerged in controversy since more than 50 houses, various squatter colonies and greenery would be destroyed.

The 17.6km largely elevated highway would be built between Jalan Tunku Kudin in the Southeast and Bagan Jermal in the Northeast, cutting through residential and commercial areas as well as hilly terrains in Gelugor, Taman Delima, Bandar Baru Air Itam, Air Itam old town, Reservoir Garden and Taman Jesselton.

Motorists using the highway will have to pay toll for the next 30 years. The state government has claimed that Porr was planned in accordance with the Penang Draft Structural Plan (2000) to ease traffic congestion in George Town.

Penang DAP wants the government to suspend the project until the on-going Jelutong Expressway becomes fully operational as scheduled in 2008, which would reduce traffic congestion along Jalan Masjid Negeri and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

The opposition party warned that if the state government failed to build more inner ring roads to reduce congestion sooner than later, foreign investors would relocate their plants to other states or even other countries.

"The longer the state government delays to build inner ring roads, the more likelier locals will lose economically," said Law.

ATHI VEERANGGAN is malaysiakini 's Penang-based stringer.