GEORGE TOWN, May 30 — The final draft of the feasibility report for the controversial undersea tunnel will be integrated with the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) expansion master plan by the Penang Port Commission (PPC), said state exco Zairil Khir Johari.

The transport and infrastructure committee chairman, in his reply to a written question from Ong Khan Lee (PKR - Kebun Bunga) at the state legislative assembly, said the final draft was being studied by government agencies and project contractor, Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC).

He said the document was presented to the state government in December 2020 after it was reviewed by an independent consultant engineer.

"The process (to study the final draft to be integrated with the NBCT expansion master plan) was from January 2021 to March 2022,” he said.

He said the feasibility report was presented to the state exco on April 6 and the state government has received the results of the report that states the undersea tunnel can be implemented.

"However, the next phase of design and construction of project is subjected to resolving issues related to the operations of the undersea tunnel alignment along with the NBCT expansion master plan which will be finalised by PPC,” he said.

He stressed that the state government has not made any decision for the feasibility report to be publicly displayed.