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View all search resultsMalaysia set to revive cross-strait bridge project with feasibility study in 2026
Malaysia's Malacca state is again moving to revive a plan to build a cross-strait bridge linking it and Indonesia's Riau province, with a new feasibility study set to commence 30 years after the megaproject was originally proposed.
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Vessels anchor in the Malacca Strait off Singapore on Sept. 21, 2021. (AFP/Roslan Rahman )
A
decades-old plan to build a bridge linking Malacca in Malaysia and Riau in Indonesia has been revived as the Malaccan state government moves to kick-start an economic feasibility study on the project next year.
Malacca Chief Minister Ab Rauf Yusoh said on Dec. 11 that the state had spent around 500,000 ringgit (US$122,579) for a consulting firm to assess the project’s effectiveness and “ability to change the economic landscape”, according to Malaysian state news agency Bernama.
The plan involves building a bridge from Pengkalan Balak Beach in Malacca’s coastal town of Masjid Tanah, where an industrial estate is currently under construction, to Rupat Island in Riau, with an expressway connecting to Dumai.
While both are located in Bengkalis regency, Riau province, Dumai is on mainland Sumatra. Nicknamed the “city of oil” for its role as a hub of oil and gas distribution, refining and production, Dumai is also home to a palm oil processing center operated by Wilmar International Ltd., while some Malaysian companies own oil palm plantations nearby.
The closest points between the neighboring countries are at a distance of just 47.4 kilometers across the Malacca Strait, according to Yusoh.
He added the megaproject was expected to be presented in January to Malaysia’s National Physical Planning Council for further deliberation before it was forwarded to the Indonesian government.
Yusoh also revealed that the Malacca state government planned to acquire 5,000 hectares of land in Masjid Tanah for a new industrial estate.
