PENANG DUN | The Penang government will seek the federal government’s assistance to finance the light rail transit (LRT) and Pan Island Link 1 (PIL1) projects if the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project is not implemented.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said at present, the PSR was still a single financing model for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) even though the state government was considering other alternatives.

He said the proposal for the two projects to be financed through the PSR project would not only able to cover the cost for the construction of the LRT dan PIL1, but also the operations and maintenance costs through the revenue generated from the PSR land development.

“If the PSR is not implemented, then the state government will have to seek assistance from the federal government to finance the LRT and PIL1 projects,” he said in reply to Lee Khai Loon (PH-Machang Bubuk) at the state assembly sitting today.

Lee had wanted to know the more sustainable and cost-effective measures to be taken by the state government in the implementation of the PTMP.

Chow said the PSR project was also one of the solutions to ensure a sustainable economic development in Penang in the future.

“Apart from being the financial model for the PTMP, the PSR project has also been seen as capable of solving the many municipal issues in Penang,” he said.

Chow added that the state government viewed seriously the implementation of PTMP rationalisation and had submitted an application to the federal government to obtain a sum of development allocation to finance the LRT project.

“If the application for the development allocation is not approved, the state government has also asked the federal government to consider providing an interest free loan for the implementation of the LRT project,” he added.