Heritage advocates are concerned over plans to build a 38-storey condominium at Gat Lebuh Nordin here, less than 200m away from the George Town Unesco World Heritage Site western boundary.

Planning permissions were submitted to the Penang Island City Council last week for approval.

It is learnt that the proposed project is in direct sight of the Lebuh Acheh Mosque minaret, which is supposed to be gazetted as a heritage vista.

George Town Heritage Action (GTHA) co-founder Mark Lay first broke the news on GTHA’s Facebook page.

“There is an application for planning permission sitting at Penang Island City Council, seeking approval to built this 38-storey luxury condo just 150m from the western boundary of the George Town World Heritage Site.”

Penang Heritage Trust vice-president Khoo Salma Nasution, who shared the posting, said: “Another monstrosity spoiling the vista from the World Heritage Site. A slice of delicious cake for metal-chomping aliens or a giant chopper about to hack up Komtar (Tun Abdul Razak Complex).”

She added that the George Town Special Area Plan gave examples of what should not be allowed and that the vista of the Lebuh Acheh Mosque should not be spoilt or compromised by allowing a tall development even beyond the World Heritage Site.

Others expressed worry that the latest development might cause Unesco to remove George Town from the former’s list of World Heritage Sites.

They said it was the job of the George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI) Board to reject any development proposal that threatened George Town’s outstanding universal value (OUV).

Pengkalan Kota assemblyman Daniel Gooi Zi Sen, the assemblyman of the area where the proposed project is expected to sit, told the New Straits Times that he had yet to see the detailed application for the project

“The project sits outside of core and buffer zones of the World Heritage Site. I need to get more details of the application before I can comment on the matter, whether it will impact the world heritage site.

“There are existing rules and regulations for (development) planning. If all conditions and regulations are adhered to, I think the Penang Island City Council should consider the project,” he said.

Gooi, who sits on the board of the GTWHI, said it was too early to confirm that the proposed project would be in direct sight of the minaret.

He acknowledged that according to the Special Area Plan, the vista of the minaret must be preserved.

Meanwhile, GTWHI, as the site manager for the George Town Heritage City Unesco World Heritage Site, confirmed the proposed project would be located outside the property and buffer territory of the George Town Heritage City Unesco World Heritage Site.

According to GTWHI general manager Dr Ang Ming Chee, it had conducted site visits since last week to study the project.

“We will comment further after we received the project detailed plan and development design from the Penang Island City Council.

Read more: NST Online

About Sunshine Central

A re-development of the old Sunshine Farlim site into a new commercial complex with business hotel and serviced residence. The entire project will be over 3.7mil sq ft of gross area, spread over three blocks of 38-storey buildings, comprises 270 units of serviced apartments, 144 units of small home offices (Sohos), a hypermarket, 300 retail outlets, a medical specialist centre, a 320-room business class hotel, and cineplexes.

Find out more about Sunshine Central

Source: Facebook

The Chief Minister of Penang has welcomed the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in the 2023 Budget that the Penang International Airport expansion project will be implemented. The Chief Minister expressed his hopes that with the expansion of the airport, it can cater to around 20 million passengers annually.

The airport expansion project is expected to boost the socio-economic development of the Northern Corridor states, as well as Penang’s tourism and industry. The Chief Minister assured that the Penang government will provide full support to the Ministry of Transport (MoT) and Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad (MAHB) in the implementation of this project. He also expressed his hopes that the project can commence this year and be completed within three years.

In addition to the airport expansion project, Penang also welcomes the RM50mil allocation to help George Town and Melaka in heritage conservation works. The state government will collaborate with the relevant ministry to finalise the best projects and programs to be implemented in George Town. It is noteworthy that the last allocation provided to Penang by the Federal Government for heritage work was when George Town was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The Chief Minister acknowledged that the Federal Government has shown its concern for Penang, which has long been neglected. He appreciated the Finance Minister’s good gesture towards Penang, and noted that there are still many infrastructure projects that need to be implemented to help the state overcome its development constraints. The state government will continue to work with the various ministries to obtain approvals for their applications.

REHDA Malaysia president Datuk NK Tong

The Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association (REHDA) Malaysia has welcomed the measures announced in Budget 2023 by the Unity Government on Friday. In particular, the association supports the government’s plans to build 12,400 units of low-cost houses under Program Perumahan Rakyat (PPR) and 4,250 Rumah Mesra Rakyat under Syarikat Perumahan Negara Bhd (SPNB), with allocations worth RM367 million and RM358 million respectively.

REHDA also commends the government’s decision to increase Syarikat Jaminan Kredit Perumahan (SJKP) allocation to RM5 billion, which is expected to benefit 20,000 borrowers without fixed income. The association believes this move will increase the ability for more Malaysians to buy a home and improve their quality of life.

However, REHDA is concerned that the pressing issue of the continuous increase of building materials prices, highlighted in the association’s Budget 2023 Memorandum, has not been addressed. The association emphasizes that if left unaddressed, the issue will have an adverse impact on house prices in the open market. Nonetheless, REHDA will continue to engage with all relevant industry players, including the government, to find a solution to this issue in the near future.

In a press statement, REHDA Malaysia president Datuk NK Tong stated that the government’s approach in the budget may seem bold and aggressive but is in fact prudent given the concerns of slower global growth for 2023. He is hopeful that some of the measures announced towards alleviating the burden of the less privileged will help them navigate their day-to-day life amidst the high cost of living, especially in urban areas.

Tong reiterated the association’s pledge to continue with its nation-building role of providing quality and affordable homes for the rakyat while providing employment to the 180 upstream and downstream industries. He hopes that the government will continue to give their full support to the industry.

Paramount Palmera, a freehold light industrial development by Paramount Property in central Seberang Perai.  Strategically located near Jalan Permatang Tinggi, within the vicinity of the established industrial address of Bukit Minyak.  It is conveniently connected to transport networks with easy access to major highways.

In this modern era of commerce, it’s all about flexibility and versatility. Paramount Palmera offers 52 units of semi-detached and 6 units of detached light industrial factories. Business owners can truly benefit from these light industrial units that can be adapted to the growth of their business. With expandable warehousing space and its many positive features, there’s so much to achieve as you take your operations to the next level.

Property Project : Paramount Palmera
Location : Bukit Minyak
Property Type : Light industrial factory
Built-up Size: 3,929 sq.ft. onwards
Total Units:: 58
Tenure : Freehold
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Paramount Property

DISCLAIMER: This article is solely based on research done using publicly available data. This is not an advertisement. Any claim, statistic, quote or other representation about a project or service should be verified with the developer, provider or party in question.