Malaysian, Thai bridge to go ahead

Malaysian, Thai bridge to go ahead

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters): Malaysia will build a US$3 billion
bridge linking the country with Thailand despite the ringgit's
sharp fall, Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was quoted as saying
by national Bernama news agency yesterday.

He said the bridge would help reduce shipping congestion in
the Strait of Malacca which separates Malaysia from the
Indonesian island of Sumatra.

He was speaking at a maritime conference in the northern
Malaysian island of Langkawi. "The fact that our ringgit has
depreciated does not mean that we cannot build this land bridge,"
he said.

The bridge is intended to be a road and rail link and would
carry oil and gas pipelines between Malaysia's northern state of
Penang and Songkhla in southern Thailand.