Bailey bridge to temporarily replace collapsed Sg Liat Bridge by April 30
SUNGKAI: The Bailey bridge, which will temporarily replace the collapsed Sungai Liat Bridge, is expected to be operational by April 30, said Deputy Works Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.
He said the road leading to the bridge must first be repaired, while the construction of the 46-metre-long bridge will commence tomorrow and is expected to be completed by April 27.
'We hope it can be completed as scheduled, as residents in the vicinity use this route daily,' he said after visiting the collapse site at Felda Sungai Klah. Also present was Behrang assemblyman Salina Samsudin.
On April 20, the Sungai Liat Bridge collapsed, cutting off access to Felda Residence Hot Spring, Kampung Tisong and the Buyong Mas Sanctuary Campsite.
The collapse left 136 individuals stranded, including 81 students from a local polytechnic living in the area.
Yesterday, state executive councillor for Infrastructure, Energy, Water and Public Transport, Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, announced that the collapsed bridge will be temporarily replaced with a Bailey bridge.
Meanwhile, Deputy Works Minister Ahmad Maslan said the permanent bridge at the site is estimated to cost around RM3 million.
Salina hoped the bridge could be completed as scheduled, as residents in the affected areas currently have to use an alternative route to reach Sungkai town.
'The 1.7-kilometre detour passes through an oil palm plantation and can only be used by those with four-wheel drive vehicles,' she said.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BusinessToday
2 hours ago
- BusinessToday
Govt Mulls Setting Up TVET Commission
The government is actively considering the establishment of a Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) Commission to support the sector's rapid development and reforms. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the matter will be assessed promptly given the surge in student enrolment and the expanding range of training programmes. 'I appreciate the role of the TVET Council, but as those closely monitoring the sector's development, we must consider proposals such as establishing a dedicated commission for TVET, and we will assess this as swiftly as possible in response to the sector's evolving needs,' he said. Anwar added that he and the Ministry of Finance will evaluate the adequacy of current facilities and explore better synergy among government-linked companies, private players, and existing TVET institutions. The Prime Minister also stressed the need for improved starting salaries for TVET graduates, reflecting their strong employability rate. 'Previously, we set the minimum wage at RM1,700. But if a group like TVET graduates achieves up to 98 per cent employability, RM1,700 is not enough. For TVET graduates, if possible, we want to raise the starting salary to as much as RM3,000,' he said. To support the ongoing development of the sector, Anwar announced an additional RM40 million allocation for the National TVET Council, along with RM10 million specifically for Melaka to strengthen TVET entrepreneurship initiatives. The announcement was made during the launch of National TVET Day 2025 at the Melaka International Trade Centre (MITC) in Ayer Keroh. Present at the event were Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and several other federal and state leaders. Related
Free Malaysia Today
3 hours ago
- Free Malaysia Today
Japanese energy giant Jera to boost LNG imports from US
Jera said its new agreements will allow it to procure up to 5.5 million extra tonnes of LNG per year from the US. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO : Japan's largest power generation company said today it would ramp up imports of liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the US, as the government in Tokyo pushes for a trade deal with Washington. Jera said it had signed supply deals from four US gas projects in Texas and Louisiana under new 20-year contracts. The agreements 'advance Jera's long-term strategy to build a diversified and resilient LNG procurement portfolio in support of stable, secure energy for Japan and Asia,' it said. US President Donald Trump wants to expand his country's fuel production and exports, having pledged to 'drill, baby, drill' for oil and gas during the election campaign. The deal comes as Japanese officials are locked in discussions with their US counterparts to dial down Trump's 'Liberation Day' trade tariffs, with fuel and agriculture imports said to be one bargaining chip for Tokyo. Jera said its new agreements will allow it to procure up to 5.5 million extra tonnes of LNG per year from the US. It currently imports 3.5-4 million tonnes. The US department of the interior hailed the agreements as 'yet another major milestone for President Trump's commitment to increase investment in the US and unleash American dominance'. 'This commitment… will bring in almost a quarter trillion dollars to our nation's economy and support over 50,000 American jobs for our country's LNG industry,' Interior Secretary Doug Burgum said in a statement. Jera currently produces about 30% of Japan's electricity, according to its website. Resource-poor Japan – the world's fifth largest single-country emitter of carbon dioxide – last year imported a total of 65.9 million tonnes of LNG. As of 2023, LNG imports from Australia accounted for 41.6% of all Japanese LNG imports, followed by Malaysia at 15.6%, Russia's 9.3%, and the US' 8.4%, according to the trade ministry. In February, Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba promised Trump that yearly Japanese investment would increase to US$1 trillion.
Malay Mail
15 hours ago
- Malay Mail
A billion-euro dream or a bridge to nowhere? Italy's plan to link Sicily faces mafia threats, protests, and 150 years of false starts
ROME, June 12 — Italy hopes to begin constructing the world's largest suspension bridge connecting Sicily to the Italian mainland this summer amid widespread scepticism that it will ever be built. The 13.5-billion-euro (RM65.3-billion) project would carry trains and six lanes of traffic, allowing cars to cross the Strait of Messina in 15 minutes. Giorgia Meloni's hard-right government hopes to boost the economy of the impoverished region, although critics say there are better ways to do this — and many believe that after decades of false starts, the bridge will never actually happen. The choppy waters between the eastern tip of Sicily and the western edge of the region of Calabria are legendary as the place where monsters Scylla and Charybdis terrified sailors in Homer's epic poem The Odyssey. These days the challenges are more prosaic, from winds of more than 100 kilometres an hour (62 mph) to the real risk of earthquakes in a region that lies across two tectonic plates. The government says the bridge will be at the cutting edge of engineering, with the section suspended between its two pillars stretching 3.3 kilometres, the longest in the world. But critics point to a long history of public works announced, financed and never completed in Italy, whether due to corruption or political instability, resulting in enormous losses for taxpayers. 'The public does not trust this political class and these projects that become endless construction sites,' said Luigi Storniolo, a member of protest group No Ponte (No Bridge). Infrastructure Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini, one of the main champions of the project, insists it will be a game-changer for the local economy. 'The bridge will be a catalyst for development,' he said on a recent visit to Reggio di Calabria, the city where the bridge will begin. 'A senseless project' The government hopes to boost trade in Sicily, which currently suffers from an 'insularity cost' of around 6.5 billion euros a year, according to regional authorities. Meloni's ministers are expected to give their final approval to the project — which Rome will fund — later this month, and Salvini insists construction will begin this summer. But work had already been announced for the summer of 2024, before being postponed — a common theme in the history of the bridge, the idea of which dates back to the unification of Italy at the end of the 19th century. The first law for the project was passed in 1971. Since then, successive governments have either revived it or cancelled it. In 2012, the idea appeared to be definitely abandoned amid the eurozone debt crisis, only for Meloni's government, which took office in 2022, to return to it once again. Salvini has repeatedly stated that the bridge would create 120,000 jobs in Calabria and Sicily, which have the fourth and the 13th highest unemployment rates respectively in the EU for young people under 29. However, the left-wing CGIL trade union estimates around 2,300 workers a year will be hired during the project, and critics say the jobs created will be offset by long-term losses from the closure of ferries. Mafia risk The project has sparked local protests, with critics warning of the impact on a protected marine zone and an important bird migratory route. Storniolo told AFP it was a 'senseless project' which used up valuable funds when 'our regions already suffer from many problems... healthcare, schools, and infrastructure.' The Italian Court of Auditors has also criticised the extent of the debt-laden Italian state's investment in this one project in its assessment of the 2024 budget. 'They want to make an entire territory believe that its only hope is this bridge — but then the bridge never arrives,' protester Storniolo added. There is also the question of mafia infiltration. The attorney general of Messina recently warned of the risk that organised crime would benefit from the project, noting that 'the power of the mafia is hidden... behind public contracts'. The government has proposed placing companies relating to the project under control of an anti-mafia structure reporting to the interior ministry. But Italian President Sergio Mattarella blocked this, saying it should only be used for one-off events such as earthquakes or the Olympics. Salvini argued that the bridge can help tackle the mafia, saying: 'You do not fight the mafia... with conferences and protests, but by creating jobs and giving hope to young people.' — AFP
