GEORGE TOWN: The Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge, built in 2014 to ease traffic congestion on the first Penang Bridge, has yet to fully meet its objective.
This was the finding of the first series of the Auditor General’s Report 2017, which was released on Monday.
According to the report, traffic on the first bridge had increased between 2.4 per cent and 3.8 per cent from 2014 to 2016.
“The average daily traffic reported on the first bridge had increased between 78,980 and 83,961 from 2014 to 2016.
“This is because of the location of the first bridge, which is near Seberang Prai Utara dan Seberang Prai Tengah, with a high population concentration of 369,340 in 2016.
“The location of the first bridge is also near major towns such as Prai, Butterworth and Bukit Mertajam compared to the second bridge in Batu Kawan and Seberang Prai Selatan, with only 209,020 people in 2016,” the Auditor General said in its audit of the second bridge oeprator, Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JKSB).
The report also went on to say that the 20 per cent rebate offered by the first bridge concession, PLUS Malaysia Berhad (PLUS), to registered Penangites, also influenced the people’s choice of using the bridge.
“Also, the distance of the second bridge to main towns, at a distance of 34km or 30 minutes, resulted in more people opting to use the first bridge,” it added.
The first Penang Bridge registered 29.57 million in traffic in 2013, which decreased to 28.83 million traffic in 2014 and went up to 29.93 million traffic in 2015.
The second bridge had traffic volumes of 3.43 million in 2014 and 4.73 million in 2015.
Meanwhile, the feedback received by JKSB on Feb 7 this year said the opening of a rest area in the fourth quarter of this year is expected to increase traffic using the bridge in stages.
It also said that the opening of the Bayan Lepas Expressway, connected with the second bridge, will result in a 20 per cent increase in traffic.
The Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Bridge, built at a cost of RM4.74 billion, spans 24km from Batu Kawan on the mainland and Batu Maung on the island.
Of the 24km, 16.9km is over the sea.
The audit report also found that JKSB was still incapable of fulfilling its payment obligation and depended on assistance from the government.
It also found that defect on the piled embankment 4 of the bridge, identified back in 2016, has yet to be acted upon from 230 days to 529 days as well as poor work quality by the contractor appointed.