THE Gurney Wharf project will see two open tenders by end of November and December respectively, says state Local Government, Housing, Town and Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo.
“The tender for the Soft Landscape Works, which is currently being reviewed by the consultants, is expected to open at the end of November 2021.
“This will be followed by a tender for Skate Park & Playground Works which will be opened at the end of December 2021,” Jagdeep said when responding to an oral question by Chris Lee Chun Kit (PH – Pulau Tikus ) at the State Legislative Assembly today.
Jagdeep said the open tender for the appointment of the main contractor, which started on Oct 15 this year, was closed on Nov 22.
“The appointment for the main contractor will be made at the end of this year so as to allow the contractor to commence work on site after the letter of acceptance for the tender is issued.
“Meanwhile, the tenders for Marine Engineering Works and Steel Roof Works will be called in the first quarter of 2022,” he said.
Jagdeep said the state government decided to implement the open tender process for the project to provide an opportunity for more qualified contractors as well as to offer a competitive bidding.
“The Public Works Department, which acts as the superintendent officer for the project, has decided to open five tenders, whereby one tender is for the appointment of the main contractor to oversee the Main Building Works and along with four nominated sub-contractors,” Jagdeep added.
According to Jagdeep the overall project is divided into into Priority 1 and Priority 2.
He said Priority 1 consists of the following components, namely children’s play area, skate park, viewing deck (south vantage point), public toilets, promenade for pedestrians, hawker stalls, retail areas and recreation park, hawker kiosks,open car park space, and water body (south) reclamation area.
Priority 2, he said, is made up of a hawker centre, retail area, convenience stores, viewing deck (north), public toilets, kiosks for additional hawkers, multi-storey car park, open car park, water garden, surau, jetty for water taxis, man-made beach and broadwalk, refuse centre, water body (north) and many more.
“The construction work for Priority 1 will take commence in January 2022 for a period of 12 months.
“It is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2022 and will be open to the public.
“Thus, we can look forward to celebrate the New Year (2023) at the iconic Penang Gurney Wharf and enjoy its ambience once the Priority 1 gets completed,” said Jagdeep.
Jagdeep also added that a groundbreaking ceremony of the project is set to take place next month.
It is learned that the construction works pertaining to Priority 2 will also commence simultaneously in January 2022 for a period of 30 months.
It will be completed in stages in 2023 until the second quarter of 2024 as it involves the detailed construction work.
The state government has also required for an additional of two years for the defect liability period (DLP), which is until the second quarter of 2026, for the Gurney Wharf project.
Story by Tanushalini Moroter
Pix by Muhamad Amir Irsyad Omar and Ahmad Adil Muhamad