Growth plans put ports in tight spot

The Star

24-06-2025

GEORGE TOWN: Penang has big plans to improve its public transport and road infrastructure, especially between the island and the mainland.
But there's one huge catch – space.
Two proposed crossings over the Penang Strait could leave port operations boxed in.
A third road bridge in the north and proposed light rail transit (LRT) bridge in the south, if both materialise, would hem in the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) and Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (SPCT).
CLICK TO ENLARGE
The two cross-strait links will slice through approach lanes and limit the room, height and safe turning space for large vessels like container and cruise ships.
'This isn't just about the port. It's about how Penang grows with so little space left,' said Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan.
His biggest 'headache' is the proposed third bridge from Gurney Drive on the island to Bagan Ajam on the mainland. It was originally conceived as an undersea tunnel.
'Ships need at least 100m of vertical clearance,' Sasedharan said. 'The largest cruise ship in the world today, Icon of the Seas, is already 85m tall. We have to plan for even larger vessels.'
A check online shows that among major sea-crossing bridges, the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco has a vertical clearance of 67m at high tide, while the Kita Bisan-Seto Bridge between Japan's Honshu and Shikoku islands reaches up to 105m.
The cable-stayed Duge Bridge in China has a vertical clearance of 565m. It spans a gorge with the Beipan River far below and has a total length of 1.3km.
France's Millau Viaduct rises 270m above ground. Its tallest pylon soars to 343m, taller than the Eiffel Tower. It is regarded as the world's tallest bridge structure.
Sasedharan said the third Penang bridge may require a highly challenging 2,000m main span with no pillars or piers beneath. This is to allow safe port operations, as the route cuts across a channel used by 5,000 vessels a year.
Among the longest main spans in the world are Russia's Russky Bridge at 1,104m and Istanbul's Fatih Sultan Mehmet Bridge at 1,090m.
The LRT bridge, planned between Macallum Street Ghaut, in the south of the island, and Butterworth does not directly affect the port's expansion zone.
However, there are concerns over navigational safety and ferry operations.
Sasedharan said PPSB had provisionally agreed to a 60m to 62m vertical clearance for the LRT bridge's main span. But it is the span width that poses the greatest risk.
'We're asking for a 600m main span. That's the minimum for safe passage.
'We may need tugboats stationed permanently in the area to manage risks. At RM10,000 a day, who pays for that?' he asked.
He added that achieving a 600m main span may require bridge structures as tall as those on Penang's first and second bridges.
These could interfere with flight paths from the Royal Malaysian Air Force base in Butterworth.
It is learned that the LRT bridge is expected to be 4km long. Aside from the railway line, there are plans to include jogging and cycling paths along it.
Sasedharan said: 'We're not against the LRT. But this needs a full marine risk analysis, an aviation review and more.'
He stressed that the port was not saying 'no' to development, but called for more holistic planning.
Worries over Penang's port facilities, however, are being fully considered, said Penang infrastructure and transport committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari.
'Our port is crucial to economic development. We realigned the third bridge's plan to make sure NBCT's expansion will not be hindered.
'As for the Penang Strait, there are many other busy straits in the world, like Istanbul with three bridges crossing the Bosphorus and about 40,000 oil tankers, bulk carriers, freighters and cruise ships passing each year,' he said.
Zairil stressed that 'Penang is not doing something that has never been done before'.
'These civil engineering feats are accomplished all over the world. The third bridge is still many years away from being finalised, so we have plenty of time to ensure the best engineering solutions will be used.
'But we plan now to make sure Penang stays globally competitive far into the future,' he said.