With works already in progress since Jan 18, the new link is expected to be completed and fully operational by April 2009.

An official familiar with the project said the initial soil testing has begun.

“Once full construction on the bridge takes off in the coming weeks, the bridge will reach the curve within one year and this is the point of no return,” he said, referring to the point where the new link would have to curve to join the existing Causeway if Singapore decided against a full bridge.

Options for the project are a scenic half bridge, a scenic full bridge or a straight bridge.

Asked what would happen if Singapore only made a decision after works had passed the curve, the official said it would be up to the Malaysian Government.

“If the Government wants to go back to the original straight bridge or even allow Singapore to join the scenic bridge project after a year, there will be added cost which can run into millions of ringgit,” he said.

Johor Baru MP Datuk Shahrir Samad urged the Government to discontinue negotiations with Singapore if the republic remained “arrogant.”

“We have already negotiated for two years but during this point we have been threatened,” he said.

The Star reported on Saturday that the 23-month delay in starting the new link to Singapore to replace the Causeway would cost the Government an additional RM70mil by the time it was completed in April 2009.

This sum includes RM50mil to build a temporary access road from the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex and the additional amount to cover the rising cost of steel, raw materials and fuel charges incurred by the contractors.

Under the RM1.113bil agreement signed between the Government and Gerbang Perdana Sdn Bhd for the 1.2km link in May 2003, the cable-stayed bridge – which will reach only halfway across the waterway – was to have been ready at the end of last year.

However, after Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over as Prime Minister, he allowed a cooling period from February 2004 to January this year to allow room for negotiations with the republic.

Malaysia is trying to persuade Singapore to build a full bridge jointly.

Negotiations with Singapore were first carried out in Putrajaya in July 2002, followed by four more formal meetings with the latest held in Putrajaya this month.

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