Malaysia says it will continue work on its "half bridge" to Singapore, local media reported yesterday, even before its neighbour has agreed to build its half.

"I have asked the contractor to continue with the work without any disruption. We don't want any delay. Even now there is already a slight delay," Works Minister S Samy Vellu was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.

Samy Vellu said he had directed the contractor, Gerbang Perdana, to start construction three weeks ago. Singapore could continue to build the rest of the bridge once it agreed to do so, he said.

Singapore has said that it would only agree to the construction of a full bridge to replace an existing ageing causeway if both sides stood to gain equally.

Malaysian Deputy Works Minister Mohamed Zin Mohamed was recently reported as saying that Malaysia's half-bridge, to be built at a cost of RM620 million could be fully completed in 36 months.

Squabble continues

Malaysia caused a stir in January by announcing it was going ahead with the project to replace the 80-year-old causeway that currently links the two countries, even though Singapore has not agreed to build its half.

Since then, both sides have said they want to speed up talks to resolve the issue.

The new Malaysian half-bridge will carry vehicles some 25m above the strait - allowing ships to pass beneath - before curving and descending to link up with the causeway from Singapore at the sea border between the two countries.

Malaysia and Singapore have squabbled for years over a variety of issues but while other bilateral feuds have been settled amid a thawing in relations over the past year, the bridge remains an outstanding problem.

There is already a modern bridge bypassing urban centers linking the two countries. But the 1,050m causeway route, which leads directly into Malaysia's Johor Bahru city, is still favoured by many motorists.