China Communications joint venture wins $660 million Penang light rail sea-bridge contract
MRT Corp gave the RM2.69 billion (about $660 million) Civil Main Contract 2 for Penang's Mutiara Line to a joint venture of China Communications Construction Company, TRC Construction and Ufuk Semarak. The job includes a 3.05-km bridge across the strait to Butterworth.
The package covers designing and building about 5.5 km of new line from Macallum Street in George Town to Penang Sentral in Butterworth, Free Malaysia Today reported. The bridge will have navigation spans so vessels can still reach the ports of Prai and Butterworth, MRT Corp said in a statement.
MRT Corp put the ride between Komtar and Penang Sentral at about eight minutes. The 22-station line is 16% built and on schedule, the agency said, and earlier reports put the start of service in 2031.
The mainland leg was added after the federal government took over the project in early 2024. In an August 2025 statement, MRT Corp said the extension from Macallum to Penang Sentral raised the estimated cost by RM3 billion to RM13 billion, and that the government later approved a budget ceiling of RM16.8 billion. The first civil package went to SRS Consortium in January 2025 at RM8.31 billion and came down to RM7.93 billion after a value management review.
MRT Corp did not publish the bridge's span lengths, foundation type or construction schedule, or each partner's share of the joint venture. The dollar figure is converted at about 4.05 ringgit to the dollar.
Why it matters: The sea crossing is a design-build marine package: 3.05 km of transit bridge with navigation spans over working port channels. Marine piling, heavy-lift and bridge subcontractors in the region should watch for tenders from the joint venture.
Sources
- MRT Corp clarifies the budget ceiling for the LRT Mutiara Line projectMRT Corp, Aug 21, 2025
- MRT Corp awards RM2.69bil contract for Mutiara Line LRT projectFree Malaysia Today, Nov 5