The urban redevelopment project will begin next year involving the Mahsuri Flat block near Lorong Mahsuri 10 in Bayan Lepas as a pilot project.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said, the project will be implemented by the Penang State Housing Board (LPNPP) under the Urban Redevelopment Committee (URC).

He added that apart from the block at Flat Mahsuri, four other housing schemes identified under the project are flats in Padang Tembak, Taman Free School,  Taman Siakap and Mak Mandin.

“The Mahsuri housing scheme near Bayan Lepas has five four-storey blocks with each block having 250 units and there is no reason why it cannot be converted into a block that covers 10 to 15 storeys.

“This means that on the same site we can build three times the existing units now.

“We have a piece of open land in the area and we will build a new multi -storey block to relocate residents from the old block that will be demolished. The existing unit owner will get a new unit as a replacement.

“This new block is also bigger and not less than 750 square feet with 3 bedrooms and two bathrooms compared to the old unit which has a building area of ​​only 250 square feet.

“The new blocks under the URC will also be equipped with security systems and other facilities that are much better for the people in the state,” he said at a press conference after officiating the URC Workshop with LPNPP near here on April 9.

Jagdeep, who is also the State Assemblyman (ADUN) Datuk Keramat, said all the five redevelopment projects are expected to add around 3,000 affordable housing units (RMM) in the state.

“This project is part of the Penang Vision 2030 to meet the needs of conducive and more comfortable housing for the people in the state,” he added.

The delegates visit the three points (Point One, Two and Three) as shown on the map.

The Phase One reclamation of Island A (approximately 1,200 acres) is scheduled to begin in May or June, said Deputy Chief Minister I Datuk Ahmad Zakiyuddin Abdul Rahman.

The tri-islands (Islands A, B and C) of the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project will be located at the south-end of the Penang island, measuring a total of 4,500 acres in land size. Island A will be 2,300 acres in size, Island B will be 1,400 acres and Island C will be 800 acres.

It would take about nine years to fully reclaim Island A.

“The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) of the PSR is in its final stage of receiving the approval from the Department of Environment (DoE).

“The department has its own SOPs and is professional in its work. We are not worried about that,” Ahmad Zakiyuddin replied a question from a reporter on the possibility of the EMP being delayed deliberately.

He said that there was no reason to speculate the matter.

Ahmad Zakiyuddin, state executive council members Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain and Dr Norlela Ariffin, Penang Infrastructure Corporation PIC chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus, together with the media and other representatives from the government agencies were taken on boats to check out the proposed site of Island A this morning.

They visited three points of the site – Point One (the easternmost point of Island A), Point Two (the southernmost point of Island A) and Point Three (the westernmost point of Island A).

The delegates were able to check out the 250m water channel (distance from the shore) for the fishermen to conduct fishing activities and to navigate towards the deeper end of the sea, on their way to Point One.

Point One is located about 600m from Pulau Rimau.

From Point One, the boats headed to Point Two where it is approximately 4.6km from the shore of Permatang Damar Laut.

Point Two is located about 1.5km to 2km from a ship wreck spot.

The boats then travelled to Point Three before heading to a soil investigation (SI) platform where the seabed soil samples are collected to obtain data for investigation.

The entire journey took about an hour.

Prior to the journey, Ahmad Zakiyuddin, Abdul Halim and Dr Norlela together with Farizan and other VIPs tested a boat (measuring 27ft-long, with a 90 horsepower engine), which is an example of the boat to be offered to the tekong (boat skippers) of the Tier One fishing units as ex-gratia.

The Tier One fishing units are from Permatang Tepi Laut, Sungai Batu, Teluk Kumbar and Gertak Sanggul.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

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Luxury residential development located next to Penang World City in Bayan Mutiara, Penang. This development comprises 1,235 condominium units in two 24-storey towers. Tower A offers 669 units with built-ups from 1,246 to 3,222 sq ft. Tower B comprises 566 units of various types, 253 units of which are categorized under affordable housing.

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The soon-to-be completed three-acre neighbourhood park at Lebuh Sungai Pinang 7, near to the popular seafront Karpal Singh Drive, is set to be a glowing attraction soon.

Situated near a river, the RM1.5 million project may see mangrove trees, which are closely associated with fireflies, be planted near the riverbank to attract the insects.

If this effort materialises, the park will be another tourist gem in Penang for local and foreign visitors who will be amazed by magical sights of the fireflies twinkling among the tree branches.

Speaking to Buletin Mutiara during an interview session recently, Sungai Pinang assemblyman Lim Siew Khim revealed that this emerging attraction would be a new spot for Penangites and tourists to spend their leisure time with their families.

“We are still in the midst of working out such an initiative for the betterment of the people. It is also in line with our Penang2030 vision that is ‘A Family-Focused Green and Smart State that Inspires the Nation’.

“Besides that, this park also adopts the Gender Responsive and Participatory Budgeting (GRPB) approach.

“At present, the park is nearly completed and is only left with the final touches to be carried out by the contractor. It is scheduled to be completed within a month.

“The project concept was put forward in October 2019. It is our aim to turn the open space into an urban neighbourhood park.

“It is really a good effort from the state to increase recreational facilities,” she said after visiting the site.

Previously, the discussion on setting up the neighbourhood park at Lebuh Sungai Pinang 7 was held with the local residents as well as for their feedback.

Lim added that residents lauded the move to build a public park for them.

“Currently, we are still finding an amicable solution to the parking spaces nearby the park, which can be utilised by the park-goers and residents,” she said.

The park has various species of trees and flowers, a garden for public planting, outdoor sports equipment and a butterfly park.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

The construction works of a section of the Bukit Kukus paired road project are expected to be completed on Oct 23 this year.

Penang Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari said the project was initially scheduled to be completed on May 26 this year but was delayed due to some technical issues involving additional works and also because of the Covid-19 situation.

“Among the additional works are slope strengthening work and the redesigning of the link road from Paya Terubong based on the advice of the geologist who had inspected the project construction site.

“As of now, the section of the Bukit Kukus paired road project is 94.83 percent complete and we are confident of doing our best to ensure that the project is completed within the stipulated time.

“When completed, it will be able to solve the problem of traffic congestion at a rate of up to 30 percent,” Zairil told reporters during a site visit yesterday.

The 5.5km Bukit Kukus paired road project, costing RM545.6 million, consists of three sections. It connects Paya Terubong and Relau.

The state government, through Penang Island City Council (MBPP), is responsible for the construction of 3.3km of the stretch that costs RM275.6 million.

Meanwhile, two more developers, namely PLB Land Sdn Bhd and Geo Valley Sdn Bhd, are responsible for the remaining 1.4km (RM150mil) and 0.8km (RM120mil) stretches respectively.

It was reported previously that the other two portions by the private companies might not be ready yet this year. Instead, they could be finished in 2024.

Source: Buletin Mutiara