A new era of the Penang ferry service will start soon with a RM20mil upgrading works of the Raja Tun Uda ferry terminal on Penang island and Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal in Butterworth that will begin in June.

Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) chief executive officer Datuk Sasedharan Vasudevan said contractors had been picked and works would be completed within 12 to 15 months.

“The Butterworth terminal will be completed first within eight months as it is more urgent. Presently, those who disembark have to walk up a flight of stairs.

“At present, the passenger-only fast boats disembark on a temporary pontoon adjacent to the existing Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal.

“We have consulted physically challenged groups on the design of the terminal to ensure that it is OKU-friendly and easy to use, ” he said.

Sasedharan said priority would be given to the upgrading of the waiting and ticketing areas at the terminals.

He said the month of June would also see the awarding of tenders for three passenger-only water buses and two ferries for two-wheelers.

“There are 30 local and international bids for the tender of vehicles and the letter of award to the successful bidder will be given by the end of June.

“It could be two companies that will be given the job to build the water buses and ferries for two-wheelers with certain specifications.

“We are looking at the best kind of vehicle to ply between the island and mainland.

“Since it is a short run, a catamaran will not be suitable and we are doing an engineering study on the best possible kind of boat. We have brought in a marine engineering company to help us in the tender process, ” he said.

Sasedharan said the phasing and transition period of the vehicles would be about 12 to 15 months.

“All the vehicles may not be delivered at the same time and one might come first within seven months and the rest later.

“It would not be an issue as we could mix and match with the existing fast boats and roll-on/roll-off (Ro-Ro) ferries.

“We would be spending roughly around RM80mil for both the ferry terminal upgrade and the procurement of the water vehicles.”

The iconic Penang ferries ceased operation on Dec 31, with only a single ferry carrying motorcyclists plying from the ferry terminal between the island and mainland.

A Ro-Ro boat for motorcyclists and two fast boats carrying passengers operate from the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal in George Town.

All four-wheelers presently use the Penang Bridge and Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge.

In the meantime, the number of people using the fast boats and Penang ferry has reduced since the imposition of movement control order (MCO) 3.0.

Penang Port Commission (PPC) chairman Datuk Tan Teik Cheng said there were only 449 passengers from Prai to Penang on the fast boats and 478 people from Penang to Prai on May 25.

“However there were only 166 from Prai to Penang and 168 from Penang to Prai on May 26, which was a public holiday due to Wesak Day, ” he said.

Tan said the number of motorcyclists on the Penang ferry was 370 from Prai to Penang and 479 from Penang to Prai on May 25.

“The figures were vastly reduced to 149 from Prai to Penang and 159 from Penang to Prai on May 26.

“This shows Penang people are very disciplined and aware of the situation presently and are working from home, ” said Tan on his Facebook posting.

Tan said while the usage of the ferry and boats had reduced, the standard operating procedures (SOPs) would be adhered to with hourly sanitisation carried out.

“PPC and Penang Port Sdn Bhd will always monitor and prioritise the wellbeing and safety of the passengers at all times, ” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

By Ar. Tan Bee Eu

While our country grapples with the rising cases of Covid-19, one recent headline caught the attention of many Penangites. The launched of Slimhaus Development, being the first prefabricated housing to use Industrialised Building System (IBS).

Since 2003, the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) has been relentless in encouraging the construction industry to embrace IBS methods in construction. Many homebuyers may have heard of construction methods of Industrialized Building System (IBS), prefabricated housing and modular housing. So, what is the difference, many asks? Wikipedia explains that Industrialized Building System (IBS) is a term used in Malaysia for a technique of construction whereby components are manufactured in a controlled environment, either at site or off-site, placed and assembled into construction works. Worldwide, IBS is also known as Prefabricated / Prefab Construction, Modern Method of Construction (MMC) and Off-site Construction.

Yet to many homeowners/buyers, it may still sound like an untested experimental product, rarely offered as a Mass Housing product as in the case of Slimhaus. Hence when shopping for their dream home, most Penangite homebuyers may still lean towards conventional development built using brick and mortar.

The scenario above prompted this article, to shed an impartial review on the construction method championed by Slimhaus Technology. My writings is based on a recent lively virtual chat with Ar. Gerald Chin (the CEO of Slimhaus Technology Sdn. Bhd.) whom incidentally was a Guest Speaker at my PechaKucha Talk Event in 2018. Imagining myself as a sceptic homebuyer, I quizzed Ar. Gerald with endless interrogation of common questions and shot head-on burning questions many have. To keep this article short and simple, here’s an excerpt of 5 selected questions covering the “bare basics” to understand what is Slimhaus all about.

IBS has been pursued by many Construction Players in Malaysia for years. What makes Slimhaus Technology any different?

In recent years, we see many companies emerged as IBS manufacturers of building components. Slimhaus is the first IBS company providing full housing solutions where the entire house is constructed using IBS technology. We are also very pleased that Malaysian Investment Development Authority (MIDA) granted us the Pioneer Status for our Construction System.

What are the biggest advantages of Slimhaus as an IBS system?

Groundbreaking consistency in quality control as every building component is manufactured off-site under systematic manufacturing methods. Think of it as building houses like we build cars & electrical appliances with precision and accuracy off-site at the manufacturing plant. All manufactured in the factory and easily assembled on site. Instant occupancy with zero or minimal renovation works. All services are modularly built into the building components; -i.e. Plug & Play wiring harnesses, Plug & Play extension power outlets, modular air-con compressor mounting system, centralised vacuum system etc.

What is the lifespan of Slimhaus? If it’s built like cars/appliance, any warranties provided then?

Slimhaus comes with total 4 years of building warranty. It’s a known fact that steel buildings have an average lifespan of 50 to 100 years. Many of the world’s tallest skyscraper was built using steel structure and IBS system, for example, our very own iconic Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC) Petronas Twin Towers.

What is the process involved in building Slimhaus?

We run everything from design, R&D to production under Slimhaus Technology Sdn Bhd. It’s similar to an IKEA product that you purchase off-shelf. Our Manufacturing Plant fabricates the house components from cutting, drilling, welding, finishing to produce a final product of a Flat Pack.

One Flat Pack contains over 68 pre‐manufactured H‐Steel Components and complete customized pre-manufactured bolting & finishing accessories. This Flat Pack is then transported to the project site and installed by our specially trained Installation team to completion in 30 days per house. That is the beauty and efficiency of our IBS System.

Slimhaus apparently does not include a single brick. Can your neighbors hear all your secret conversations? How do you address this concern?

Slimhaus’s building components of party wall, internal wall and flooring system all complies to the required Building By-laws including BOMBA Fire Safety Regulations. We have formulated a wall solution based on a sandwich panel concept that performs on par, if not better than a conventional brick wall.

One of the biggest game-changer that IBS brings to the playing field is significantly low reliance on massive foreign labour at site. Slimhaus is empowering local youth to undergo technical training to become Skilled Assemblers. If your interest is piqued on IBS and wish to understand the technical aspects of Slimhaus, just send your queries to the Editor. Perhaps, that may pave way to a subsequent discussion of the IBS System used by Slimhaus. Till then, please stay home! Stay safe, everyone!

(Credits: Special thanks to Ar. Gerald Chin for graciously sharing details of his IBS Total Housing Solution in Malaysia, and providing the photographs.)

Ar. Tan Bee Eu is Professional Architect registered with Lembaga Arkitek Malaysia and has 20 years of working experience in international and local architectural projects. Currently, an academician with Universiti Sains Malaysia, School of Housing, Building and Planning; specializing in Passive Design of Natural Lighting and Modular Construction Design. Ar. Bee Eu also founded Pechakucha Night Penang, an International Copyrighted Talk Event using the format of 20 images x 20 seconds.
(More about Ar. Tan Bee Eu)

A nationwide full lockdown will take place from June 1 to 14 and all sectors will not be allowed to operate during this period except the essential economic and service sectors.

A special National Security Council meeting chaired by Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin on Friday (May 28) made the decision to implement the full lockdown for 14 days.

In a statement by the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), it said the decision was made following the steep climb of Covid-19 cases that breached the 8,000 mark with more than 70,000 active cases on Friday.

“So far, 2,552 people have died and the number is climbing.

“The existence of new and more violent virus variants that are highly infectious also influenced today’s decision.

“With the steeply increasing numbers, our hospital capacity nationwide to treat Covid-19 patients is also getting thinner,” the statement read.

Should this first phase of lockdown succeed in reducing the number of daily cases, the PMO said the government would move on to the second phase that allows some economic sectors to open provided no large gatherings are involved and physical distancing is practised.

“Phase Two of the lockdown is expected to last for four weeks after Phase One ends.

“After that, Phase Three would start with the implementation of the movement control order (MCO) where no social activities are allowed.

“Most economic sectors would be allowed to operate according to strict SOPs and physical distancing at workplaces, which will be limited,” it said, adding that the decision to move from one phase to the next is subject to risk assessments by the Health Ministry.

“The assessment would be made based on the daily cases and the hospitals’ capacity nationwide to treat Covid-19 patients,” it added.

PMO also assured that the government would prevent the country’s public health system from collapsing.

“Various support and assistance will be given to the Health Ministry to increase the hospital capacity throughout the country.

“The government will also increase the number of vaccines to be administered to the people over the next few weeks to expedite herd immunity in the country.”

Following the government’s decision to implement a full closure of the economic and social sectors, PMO said the Finance Ministry would detail the assistance package to the people and affected businesses.

“An announcement on this assistance package will be made soonest.

“We call on all Malaysians to remain disciplined and always adhere to the SOPs to break the chain of Covid-19 infections.

“It is best to stay home to flatten the Covid-19 infection curve,” it added.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The proposed first phase of Sunway Valley City integrated development by Sunway Property at Paya Terubong in Penang Island. It is strategically located along Jalan Paya Terubong, about 8km to George Town and Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

The initial phase of this project will see the construction of a 24-storey commercial building, featuring 237 units of shop offices and 205 units of office suites. There will be 3 levels of car parking podium.

This project is still in its planning stage and pending approval. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sunway Valley City, Paya Terubong
Property Type : Commercial
Total Units: 237 (shop offices), 205 (office suites)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Sunway City Sdn. Bhd. (Sunway Property)

– A letter from SRS Consortium to FMT

First, we would like to reiterate that for both the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and the Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation projects, it is the state that is the asset owner.

As the asset owner, the state has to “take into consideration the need to adequately fund the PTMP and reclamation costs” and “consider the matching of supply of these lands to balance with demand from the market”.

This statement clearly highlights that under the project delivery partner model of the RFP, the state is indeed the ultimate funder of both the PTMP and the PSI projects, and apart from assuming all the financing risks, it also has to contend with the full assumption of market risks in selling reclaimed land real estate.

Upon the formation of the Pakatan Harapan federal government in 2018, the state had a renewed belief that it would be able to obtain federal government allocations and/or loan guarantees to fund its PTMP components, just like how other states had similarly benefitted for their own transport infrastructure.

For example, the LRT systems within Selangor’s borders and the Pan-Borneo highways in Sabah and Sarawak.

Subsequently, in early March 2020, the RM10 billion loan guarantee that was promised for the state’s LRT was withdrawn.

Nonetheless, the state still took the view that:

• It would pursue with the federal government for the LRT loan guarantee to be reinstated given that it is purely a development expenditure for social needs of its rakyat; AND
• The reclamation of the first island of PSI (Island A) must proceed forthwith to provide a pivotal addition and extension to the state’s E&E hub in Bayan Lepas, and attract E&E foreign investors – in doing so, there would be an influx of foreign direct investments (FDI) and tremendous job creation for Penangites, especially among the highly skilled.

To achieve the second objective of kick-starting the PSI Island A reclamation as a major economic impetus for Penang state, especially as a post-pandemic economic stimulus, it was agreed that a joint venture be formed between SRS and Penang Infrastructure Corporation (wholly owned by the Penang state government) to enable SRS to fully fund the Island A development, while the state is absolved of all financing risks and costs of Island A’s development.

Even though the state has fully absolved itself of all risks, it still retains a substantial stake of 30% to reap in any rewards or profits from the Island A development.

Not to mention, the state can wield substantial influence of control via its 30% stake and its authority over all land matters, to ensure its socio-economic and land planning objectives are all met, for the people of Penang.

For federal projects, typically any privateer would reap 100% of the reward, given it would absorb 100% of the risks. For independent power producers, or highway concessions or developments, this is the underlying prevailing equitable rule.

Yet, the Penang state has clearly done one better here for itself.

Under this 70:30 joint venture arrangement, the state insisted on an enterprise, not only with a strong enough balance sheet to fully shoulder the funding liability of RM4 billion to deliver Island A, but also with the requisite track record of delivery of large infrastructure projects, on time and on budget, all the time.

Furthermore, the same enterprise is also responsible for delivering Phase 1 of the reclamation.

This will ensure that the project gets delivered and Penang benefits from the ensuing FDI, estimated at over RM70 billion and the ensuing GDP contribution and job creation is estimated to be RM100 billion and more than 300,000 jobs, respectively, where at least half are knowledge-based and highly-skilled jobs, over a 30-year development time frame for the three PSI islands.

And to ensure the delivery of the lands is done on the most cost-efficient basis, the state had also insisted on the appointment of an independent checking engineer, to oversee that cost estimates and work programmes are reasonable, fair and equitable.

Thus, there is clearly no double dipping or leveraging off the state in any way.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com