Building a new landmark of Malaysia

The Petronas Twin Towers in downtown Kuala Lumpur will soon have competition as Malaysia's world-renowned icon. The Penang Second Bridge, due for completion in January 2011, is going to be Southeast Asia's longest bridge and could well eclipse the towers as the country's most recognized landmark.

The 22.5-km bridge will be designed and constructed by China Harbor Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC).

"The bridge will become an icon symbolizing the friendship between China and Malaysia," said Sun Ziyu, CHEC president.

The $1.1 billion project's significance goes beyond being a major future tourist attraction for Malaysia.

"It will be the best showcase of China's capabilities in bridge building," Sun said

CHEC is China's top port builder and a leading bridge construction firm. The planned bridge is the company's largest overseas project in terms of contract value.

Su believes the project will be another major achievement for the 27-year-old company in the international engineering contracting market, given the important role of the new bridge in Malaysia's future development.

The bridge is part of the Ninth Malaysian Plan, which is a comprehensive government blueprint to allocate the national budget from 2006 to 2010. The plan was unveiled in April 2006 by Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

As a major transportation hub of northern Malaysia and a regional economic center, Penang has long suffered traffic bottlenecks because the existing bridge has been operating at maximum capacity.

China will provide an $800 million loan to the project, which is the largest amount given by the nation for a single project in a foreign country.

The bridge is designed and constructed by a consortium that is 51 percent owned by CHEC and 49 percent by UEM Construction, a unit of Malaysia's leading construction conglomerate UEM Group.

The bridge will be the second to link Penang Island to the Malaysian mainland, after the existing Penang Bridge. The latter is being expanded to accommodate increasing traffic.

The two sightseeing platforms at the central span of the bridge are its most striking feature, enabling tourists to enjoy a panoramic view of Penang and the mainland.

(China Daily 08/31/2007 page21)