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PETALING JAYA: The new water buses and vehicle carriers that will soon be used in the iconic Penang ferry service will be much safer and more comfortable for passengers, says Datuk Seri Dr. Wee Ka Siong.
In response to claims that the ferry service is being canceled, the Transport Minister said it will be updated and improved with the new watercraft.
“The government and Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) will spend RM36.5 thousand in total to buy three new water buses and two roll-on / roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries that would also carry two-wheelers.
“It is much safer, more comfortable and faster. This will increase Penang’s attractiveness as a tourist destination, ”he said in a Facebook statement on Thursday (December 17).
Existing ferries, he said, would need to undergo maintenance once a month on average and would cost about RM3.5k each to maintain annually.
As such, he said the ferries, which have been used for 47 years to transport four-wheelers, could be reused instead.
“Due to their age, the Ministry of Transport and Finance would have no opposition if the Penang Port Commission, PPSB, the state government or the private sector want to modify them as restaurants, museums or cruise ships,” he said.
Dr Wee added that improving the ferry service was not a new matter, and that former Transport Minister Anthony Loke had announced in Parliament on October 1, 2018 that an allocation of RM90 thousand had been awarded to Prasarana to do it.
“However, almost a year later, in August 2019, Loke said that the RM90mil allocation cannot be disbursed when the Pakatan Harapan administration decided to negotiate with PPSB to take over the ferry service and invest in new catamarans,” he said .
Dr Wee added that when Penang Prime Minister Chow Kon Yeow met with the Ministry of Transport on August 27 this year, the Ministry had indicated its intention to improve the ferry service, in accordance with the plan. of the Pakatan Harapan government.
“When Anthony Loke announced the use of catamarans with Prime Minister Chow to replace the existing ferry service in 2019, why did Lim Guan Eng, as Finance Minister at the time, not reject Loke’s suggestion to buy the new ferries? Ro-Ro? who can transport cars to ‘preserve’ Penang’s history and heritage?
“The reality is that the use of catamarans as a replacement for existing ferries already received a ‘blessing’ from the DAP when they were in government,” he said.
Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz said on Thursday that the ferry service would continue.
Earlier, Penang Port Commission Chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said that the old ferries will come to a complete stop in 2022 and will be replaced by water buses and vehicle transporters.
PPSB will take over the ferry service from Prasarana Malaysia Bhd on January 1 and will operate only fast passenger ferries between the Pangkalan Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal in Butterworth and Pangkalan Raja Tun Uda.
One of the existing ferries will be used to transport bicycles and motorcycles.
https://www.facebook.com/wksbmenglish/posts/1789160087918154
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