Good stake in Second Penang Bridge project

Malaysia has obtained a good equity stake of 49% in the joint-venture CHEC-UEMC Consortium, despite receiving a substantial loan of US$800mil from China.


An artist's impression of the 23km second Penang Bridge

The CHEC-UEMC Consortium is formed by China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd (CHEC) and UEM Group to build the Second Penang Bridge.

CHEC information division manager Ma Jie said this was due to the strong bilateral-relationship between China and Malaysia that had lasted more than 600 years.

“China would usually want to hold on to an 80% or 90% stake in the joint-venture company when it gave out such a substantial loan but because of the relations, China is agreeable to Malaysia holding a 49% stake,” he said.

Ma said the 3% interest charged by China and the 20-year repayment period was also a special deal for Malaysia.

“If UEM Group had gone elsewhere to obtain the loan, the interest rate would be between 5% and 6%.

“In short, Malaysia's cost to build the bridge drops significantly, due to the loan from China,” he added.

Ma said CHEC would also consider collaborating with UEM to work on infrastructure projects in African and Middle-Eastern countries.

“CHEC does not build only bridges. It also has the expertise in highways and airports.

“Presently CHEC has infrastructure projects in the Middle East, while UEM is undertaking similar projects in Qatar,” he added.

By joining with CHEC, a Fortune 500 company, UEM is bringing in one of the world's leading bridge builders to construct the second link in Penang.

“CHEC is now constructing the 32.4km Sutong Bridge, which is the world's longest cable-stay bridge, connecting Suzhou and Nantong.

“The project is scheduled for completion at the end of 2008. In December 2005, CHEC completed the 32.5km Donghai Bridge, the world's second longest bridge, connecting Shanghai and Yangshan Deepwater Port,” he said.

On constructing Penang’s 23km second bridge, Ma said CHEC would use environmentally friendly pre-fabricated pile foundation and pre-fabricated assembly pack technology.

“A pre-fabrication yard would be built in Penang to manufacture 294 piers and 9,364 sections for the bridge. It would take a year to produce the pre-fabricated parts and about 24 months to join them. The bridge, with the ability to withstand a 7 Richter scale earthquake, will have a 100-year life span. Over 80% of the raw materials used for the bridge will be sourced in Malaysia,” he said.

Ma said the bridge would have a dual two-lane carriageway with one motorcycle lane on each side. CHEC has over 100,000 employees worldwide, more than 60 offices overseas, and has a turnover of US$15bil last year.

Sources:
TheStar: Good stake in Second Penang Bridge project
http://star-space.com/news/story.asp?file=/2007/8/6/pnews/18488349&sec=pnews
CHEC Introduction
http://www.chec.bj.cn/ens/gsgk/zgjj/index.html
Sutong Bridge
http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/sutong/index.html

Best Workers from China for Second Penang Bridge

The most experienced workers and professionals from China will be employed for building the Second Penang Bridge by CHEC (China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd).

Wan is presently managing the Sutong Bridge which was recently completed by CHEC in the Jiangsu Province of China.

Recently, CHEC completed the 8146 m long Sutong bridge in the Jiangsu Province of China which partly used the technology is also the world's first longest stayed cable bridge.

The bridge is the first in CHEC's list to use the short-line-matching technology for building the bridge across the Yangtze River, linking Nantong city and Suzhou city in the province.

The Penang Second Bridge will be also built using the same technology.

Its other world records include having the main span stretching for 1088 m, beating the record held by Japan's Duo Duo Luo Bridge by 198 m.

CHEC, which is developing the Second Penang Bridge together with UEM, has given the commitment to the Malaysian government to start work on the bridge in early November if all relevant approvals and documentation on the Malaysian side are completed by Aug 1.

CHEC has already started survey and geo-investigation works at site and mobilised dredging equipment and is on standby to start other preliminary work such as trial piles and dredging.

It is also awaiting the final say from the Malaysian government and UEM on the design for the two viewing platforms on either side of the bridge which are expected to have some Islamic features.

CHEC is China's leading bridge builder but its projects have been mostly within China so far and it sees the development of the Second Penang Bridge as a significant development outside China and as a move towards its expansion to the region and the rest of the world.

Sources:
BERNAMA: Best Workers From China For Second Penang Bridge
http://www.bernama.com.my/bernama/v3/news_business.php?id=275942
CHEC Introduction
http://www.chec.bj.cn/ens/gsgk/zgjj/index.html
Sutong Bridge
http://www.roadtraffic-technology.com/projects/sutong/index.html