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The Penang Monorail is a proposed monorail line to be constructed under the Ninth Malaysia Plan and Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER). It will be located on Penang Island. Two lines will be built, with possible extensions to Seberang Perai in the future. The 37 km system is expected to cost RM 1.6 billion. After the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, the project has been postponed indefinitely, which generated mixed reactions from NGOs, and politicians.
Contents
Stations
The names of all the stations on the monorail are still mostly unknown, although the main stops are confirmed. The Red Line will run between Tanjung Tokong and the Penang International Airport via Scotland Road, Jalan Air Itam and the Penang State Mosque. The Green Lane will run between Paya Terubong and Weld Quay Terminal, via Jalan Air Itam, Jalan Dato' Keramat, and Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar). The interchange will be situated at Jalan Air Itam.
Bidding Phase
The tender for the Project has been closed since 16 November 2007. Some of the contenders for the project were Melewar Industrial Group Bhd (MIG) and Putera Capital Bhd.
On 10 January 2008, the government announced the winner of the tender, which is a consortium led by Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB) The members of the consortium includes Scomi Engineering Bhd and Penang Port Commission. According to The Edge, a Malaysian business newspaper, Malaysian Resources Corporation will build the monorail infrastructure, while Scomi Engineering will provide consultant expertise in building the infrastructure and Penang Port Commission have the land on to which the main hub will operate. The tender cost is expected to be at MYR 1.6 billion. MRCB also operated a joint venture with Pelaburan Hartanah Bumiputera Bhd to build the inter-modal transportation hub called Penang Sentral. The Letter of Intent was awarded to MRCB and Penang Port by Syarikat Prasarana Negara Bhd on 15 January 2008, although the final solution of the lines and stations is not out yet.
Re-bidding by Other Parties
On April 2008, Melawar Industrial Group proposed to the opposition led state government an MYR 2.2 billion railway solution which operate on a single line and run on three different loops from locations like Gelugor, Farlim in Air Itam and Gurney Drive into the city. The system will feature steel structures and will run near the state's heritage buildings. In response, the state government will consider such proposal and may carry out the project by themselves instead of waiting for the federal government.
First phase
The first phase line will connect Bayan Lepas to George Town (Downtown Line)
Post-postponement
After the mid-term review of the Ninth Malaysia Plan, which was tabled in Parliament on June 26, 2008, the monorail project, along with the Penang Outer Ring Road has been postponed indefinitely.