LE TOUR DE BATU KAWAN

A 40.7 km trip one sunday morning....
What a day after 2 plates of Bihun Goreng...
Looking forward next Sunday.... Batu Musang ...

Along Sungai Udang river bank... serenity is the word.

At Jeti Kuala Changkat

Taking a rest along the highway...

looks like a middle of nowhere

The Icon of Batu Kawan

SOON TO BE...

during the day.....

... and illuminate at night..


an artist impression ... the holy mosque and the world's biggest clock.. in months to come..

JAM TERBESAR DI DUNIA.....

world's biggest clock begins ticking





the four faced clock, atop the abraj al bait towers in mecca, saudi arabia



a giant clock in the muslim holy city of mecca began ticking last wednesday on the first day
of the fasting month of ramadan in saudi arabia. the four-faced clock project will be fully
operational after a three-month trial period.

the royal clock, designed by german premiere composite technologies company, sits atop
a skyscraper just 50 meters away from the grand mosque in the city. the clock was designed
to be the world's largest - six times larger than london's big ben.


the 577-meter mecca clock royal tower also features a lunar observation center and an islamic
museum. situated in the heart of the massive abraj al-bait complex comprising hotels, shopping
malls and conference centers - the clock will run on arabian standard time, three hours ahead
of the universal GMT ( standard. each of the clock's four faces are 151 feet in diameter and will
be illuminated by 2 million LED lights, along with huge arabic script reading: 'in the name of allah.'
another 21,000 white and green colored lights, fitted at the top of the clock, will flash to as far as
19 miles to signal islam's five-times daily prayers. read more



construction of the clock - the diameter of the dial is around 40 meters
photo AFP



photo AFP
initial rendering of the the abraj al bait towers in mecca with the giant clock



the height of the tower in comparison to the rest of the world's towers

Concessionaire: Second bridge will be completed by November 2013

This can be seen from far...
The second Penang Bridge is 47.55% completed as of March.

The project is however 2.85% behind the 50.4% scheduled progress.

State Public Works, Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said concession holder Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd (JKSB) had assured the state government that it would catch up with the scheduled completion of the 24km bridge slated for November 2013.

Construction works on the bridge started in late November 2008.

Lim also said over 700 workers were working round the clock at the United Engineers Malaysia (UEM) segmental box girder plant in Batu Kawan to produce 8,092 units of segmental box girders for the bridge.

“They have already moulded 987 units. A total of 28 units are already fixed on-site out in the sea with 14 of them on each side of the bridge.

“Besides that, piling works are 84% completed while the building of pile caps and columns are 55% and 45% completed respectively,” he said during a visit to the plant yesterday.

Lim added that the two toll plaza buildings, to be located in Batu Kawan, were still on the design board.

“We will also implement a green concept for the package to be environmental friendly,” he added.

Buildcast Sdn Bhd (a wholly-owned subsidiary of UEM Builders Bhd) production manager Anuar Abdul said there were 22 moulds and three factories at the segment casting plant.

“Between 12 and 14 pieces of segmental box girders are produced in a day and the process is a tedious one,” he said.

The RM4.5bil second bridge project comprises three main packages — construction of the sub-structure by CHEC Construction Sdn Bhd (the local arm of China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd), casting of the segmental box girder by UEM Builders Bhd, and construction of the Batu Kawan and Batu Maung exit and entry points and trumpet interchange by Cergas Murni, IJM Construction and HRA Teguh.

The bridge, which will link Batu Kawan in Seberang Prai to Batu Maung on Penang island, is poised to be the longest bridge in the country and Southeast Asia.