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.