Some lanes on the first Penang Bridge could be closed for up to three months to allow repairs to electrical cables that caught fire yesterday, said Zairil Khir Johari.

The state infrastructure and transport committee chairman said Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) will meet with PLUS Expressways to discuss the extent of closure later today.

He said they are considering closing one lane on each side of the bridge only at night for the repair works but this would depend on the amount of repairs needed.

“Hopefully, TNB will announce the decision later after their discussions with PLUS,” he said when contacted today.

Zairil also issued a statement to stress that the repair works on the electrical cables at KM3.2 of the bridge would take a maximum of three months.

He said TNB is still investigating the cause of the fire and the timeline for the repairs will be finalised after detailed investigations today.

“Even though the timeline for the repair works depends on the severity of the damage and discussions with PLUS on the lane closure, TNB has given the assurance that the repair works will not take more than three months,” he said.

He said TNB visited Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s office this morning to explain the fire that broke out at the electrical cables at about 4.23pm yesterday.

“The fire damaged three circuits under the bridge, which led to a power supply disruption of about 35 seconds in several areas but the power supply was restored and is stable as there are other sources of power,” he said.

Generally, Zairil said the demand for power supply on the island side is up to 700MW and, currently, there are four other circuits, through submarine cables, that have supply capacities of a total 1,180MW while the Gelugor Power Station can supply 310MW of power.

“This means there is supply capacity of about 1,490MW for the island which is more than enough compared to the demand,” he said.

He said the state will support TNB’s efforts in ensuring stable power supply to consumers in Penang.

Source: MalayMail.com

Visitors are advised to observe strict standard operating procedures (SOPs) when visiting the public parks in Penang.

State Youth and Sports Committee chairman Soon Lip Chee said it is important to adhere to the SOPs to curb the spread of Covid-19.

“All parks under the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) are allowed to open to the public starting from yesterday (Feb 22).

“However, please return home immediately after you exercise, and avoid social interactions and gatherings.

Soon visited the Penang City Park this morning together with Penang State Sports Council director Harry Chai.

On Feb 19, the Sports and Youth Ministry had announced that the National Security Council (NSC) has agreed to loosen part of the restrictions imposed on the sports and recreation sector.

Soon also advised the visitors to exercise at their own pace.

On a related note, Soon said that parks under the jurisdiction of the Forestry Department and Penang Water Supply Corporation (PBAPP) were yet to open.

“Among those that are still close to the public are the dams, the Taman Negara, and the Cherok Tokun Nature Park.

“We are still waiting for the updates from the relevant authorities regarding these parks and dams.

“Apart from that, Vision Park and Taman Ampang Jajar which are under the MBSP, are closed due to maintenance purposes,” Soon said.

He said that he had updated Penang police chief Datuk Sahabudin Abd Manan on the sports activities that have been allowed to resume in the state.

Soon also commended the visitors at the Penang City Park for complying to the SOPs.

“I noticed that the joggers here put on their face mask after completing their workout. If we continue to adhere to the SOPs, I believe we can curb the pandemic soon,” he added.

Soon also said that he would be making visits to some of the indoor and outdoor sports centre in Penang.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

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Penang has once again proved to be a ‘strategic place’ for property transactional activities following an increase of demand in the residential units in Q3 compared to Q2 last year.

State Housing, Local Government, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said he was glad with the remarkable result as cited by the National Property Information Centre (NAPIC), which operates under the Finance Ministry’s Valuation and Property Services Department (JPPH).

“In light of the current Covid-19 pandemic, the publisher of business and financial publication (The Edge) has come out with a report titled ‘Transaction volume expected to spike’ a few days ago.

“From the report, it stated that 3,446 residential units totalling to RM1.3bil were transacted in Q3 of last year compared to 1,545 residential units totalling to RM620mil were transacted in Q2 of last year. From this, we can see almost 123% spike in the demand for property units, especially affordable homes.

“Although last year was a tough year for everyone amid the movement control order (MCO), many transactional activities related to residential properties were taking place.

“This is a positive news for all of us as this shows the Penang government is committed to supplying affordable homes to the Penangites.

“On top of that, the first-time home buyers took the opportunity to secure their first properties amid the pandemic.

“We ‘walk the talk’ as there are adequate supply of affordable homes for the people,” he told a press conference in Komtar today.

On top of that, the state has identified five plots of land, covering 73 acres in the five districts.

Jagdeep added that the state Housing Board, which was established last month, would be tasked with the open tender process before development is carried out.

“Affordable housing is a way forward for Penang,” he said.

Raine & Horne International Zaki + Partners Sdn Bhd senior partner Michael Geh, who was present, expected the upward spike to continue in Q4 of last year.

As a chartered valuation surveyor, he said it was an ‘amazing’ result for the state to record increase of demand in residential units during post-MCO.

“Based on my observation, I would strongly feel that the transactional activities for Q4 of last year will keep on increasing.

“For example, the achievement was due to various housing policies being carried out. It includes the waiver of real property gains tax (RPGT) and other measures,” he said.

On the overhang units specifically in Penang, Geh pointed out only certain states in the country are facing this situation.

“It takes place mostly in some urbanised states instead of entire nation.”

Source: Buletin Mutiara

About The Se7en @ Juru

A commercial development by Prospek Setia Sdn. Bhd. at Bukit Tengah. It is a small development strategically located along the busy road of Jalan Kebun Nenas, next to Juru Sentral development near Icon City. Just a stone’s throw away from Juru Auto-City. It features 13 units of 3-storey shop offices.

Find out more about The Se7en @ Juru