(From left) Farizan, Zairil, Chow, Lim and Zulkifli looking at the plan for the NCPR. — CHAN BOON KAI/The Star
THE RM2.93bil North Coastal Paired Road (NCPR) linking Tanjung Bungah and Teluk Bahang is expected to be ready by 2031.
Upon completion, the 10.61km project will reduce travel time from a minimum of 30 minutes to just seven minutes.
Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the project would serve as an alternative route from Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.
He said the project, estimated to cost RM2.93bil, including RM500mil for land acquisition, would take five years to complete.
Work is expected to begin in 2026, he added.
The NCPR will have two sections; 8.41km of main road and a 2.2km coastal road.
The road will begin at Jalan Lembah Permai in Tanjung Bungah.
Part of it will run along the coastline, going past the cape’s Floating Mosque and running parallel to the beach near Batu Ferringhi.
The road intersections will be at Jalan Sungai Emas, Batu Ferringhi (Chin Farm traffic lights) and Teluk Bahang.
Speaking at a press conference at his office in Komtar, Chow said a new alignment of the NCPR had been introduced to reduce the project’s impact on densely populated areas.
Hill clearing, he explained, would be unavoidable as 70% of the road would be built through hill areas.
The new alignment would circumvent Chee Seng Gardens, Jalan Chan Siew Teong, Marvista and Beverly Hills, compared with the earlier alignment proposed a decade ago.
“The Penang government will fund 4.88km of the 10.61km paired road project from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Jalan Sungai Emas through a land swap with Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC).
“CZC will fund the remaining 5.73km from Jalan Sungai Emas to Teluk Bahang through contra method for the company’s future development projects in the state.
“The realignment was necessary to avoid a densely populated area. Part of the route will be extended out to the sea,” he explained.
Chow said a revised environmental impact assessment (EIA) would also be made for the new route, particularly the coastal portion expected to take one-and-a-half years to complete.
He said the EIA for the land route had already been approved.
He also said that only Kampung Mutiara in Batu Ferringhi was expected to be affected by the project.
“However, the Urban Development Authority has plans to redevelop this area in line with the development of the NCPR,” he said.
Chow explained that CZC had been asked to factor in the Unesco Biosphere Reserve status Penang earned, to facilitate the NCPR.
The NCPR project is part of Penang’s undersea tunnel and three roads project that, in turn, is part of the RM46bil Penang Transport Master Plan.
Also present at the press conference were Penang Infrastructure Corporation chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus, Penang state infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari, CZC president (project and development) Lim Hooi Kooi and state secretary Datuk Zulkifli Long.
