The Penang government, through the Penang Hill Corporation, will issue a Request For Proposal (RFP) likely next month for its proposed Penang Hill cable car project.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (PH – Padang Kota) told the State Legislative Assembly in Dewan Sri Pinang today that project would be implemented with the cooperation of the private sector through a Public Private Partnership (PPP).

“This cable car project is expected to take three to four years to complete and ready for operation,” Chow said when replying to an oral question by Lim Guan Eng (PH – Air Putih) who wanted to know the status of the project.

Find out more about Penang Hill cable car project

“The project was approved by the Federal Government under the 2020 Budget in October 2019.

“However, the Ministry of Finance through a letter dated April 3, 2020 stated that the application was not considered by the ministry and cannot be continued.

“On behalf of the Penang government, I had submitted an appeal on June 10 this year to the ministry to review and reconsider the allocation application for the proposed Penang Hill cable car project.

“But until today, we have not received any response from the ministry.”

Penang was initially given an allocation of RM100 million by the Federal Government to build the Penang Hill cable car project under 2020 Budget on Oct 11 when Lim was then the Finance Minister.

This was, however, withdrawn following a change of the Federal Government with Perikatan Nasional taking over Putrajaya from Pakatan Harapan in February.

Chow said under the 11th Malaysia Plan, the total number of Federal Government projects approved for Penang under 2020 Budget until Aug 2 is 167 projects with a total cost of RM14.9 billion.

“These projects consist of 126 new projects with a cost of RM10.52 billion and 41 extension projects with a cost of RM4.38 billion. Out of the 167 projects, 148 are physical and 19 non-physical.”

The breakdown of the 167 Federal Government approved projects is as follows: planning (13), according to schedule (122), completed (25), behind schedule (6) and ‘ill’ (1).

Lim, in a supplementary question, also wanted to know whether there was any reason given by the Federal Government for the cancellation of the Penang Hill cable car project.

In addition to that, he said the previous Pakatan Harapan Federal Government had guaranteed a RM10 billion loan for the Penang Transport Master Plan to help reduce traffic congestion in the state.

He asked whether its cancellation has anything to do with ‘revenge’ by the current PN Federal Government.

Chow said until now there was no good news from the Federal Government for Penang and the state had already followed up with an appeal to the ministry and prime minister.

The appeal is also to obtain the loan or bond guarantee from the Federal Government so that the state could carry out the public transportation project.

He also said the state would want that the projects to be included under the 12th Malaysia Plan.

“The 12th Malaysia Plan is not finalised yet; it’s only in January 2021. We still hope that because of the importance of the projects, the Federal Government will consider them.

“With the situation now, Penang cannot just sit and wait. We need a final decision so that we can take alternative action,” Chow said.

Source: Buletin Mutiaria

Yet another proposed highrise residential development by Dutamas Permai Sdn. Bhd. (Airmas Group) at Jelutong. Strategically located on a 1.3-acre land along the ever-bustling Jalan Jelutong, next to newly completed Artis 3 condominium by the same company. It is less than 10 minutes drive from Penang Bridge, about 4km away from KOMTAR. Other communities within 1km radius include The H2O Condominium, Straits Garden Suite, Grace Residence and Urban Suites.

This development will feature a 29-storey condominium offering 161 residential units with 7 levels of car parking podium.

The project is pending for approval. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Jelutong
Property Type : Condominium
Land Area: 1.29 acres
Land Tenure: Freehold
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Total Units : 161
Developer : Dutamas Permai Sdn. Bhd. (Airmas Group)

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.

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The Penang government has reiterated that the projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) would only start after the respective projects obtained the approvals.

State Transport and Infrastructure Committee chairman Zairil Khir Johari (PH-Tanjong Bunga) said the Penang government would not start any of the project without first obtaining the required approval.

“We will also ensure that the conditions imposed are complied with,” he replied the oral question raised Ong Khan Lee (PH-Kebun Bunga) during the Penang State Legislative Assembly in Dewan Sri Pinang today.

Zairil said the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project had been presented to the National Physical Planning Council (NPPC) on April 18 last year and the council had imposed 18 points of advice to be adhered to.

“The PSR project has received the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval on June 25 last year with 72 conditions. The project has also obtained the approval letter for its Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report from PLAN Malaysia on Aug 27 last year.

“In general, the PSR project has obtained all the mandatory approvals that are required from the Federal Government. The Environmental Management Plan (EMP) report, which is one of the 72 conditions imposed, has been submitted to the Department of Environment (DoE) on July 17 and is still awaiting approval,” he said.

Zairil added that Danish architecture firm Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) had been chosen as the lead masterplan designer for the PSR project after winning the Penang South Islands International Masterplan Design Competition.

As for the Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (BL LRT) project, Zairil said the Phase One of the project had obtained the EIA approval on Feb 21 this year with 63 conditions.

“The Heritage Impact Assessment (HIA) report has been approved on Aug 28 while the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) report was approved on June 19. The BL LRT project has also obtained the conditional approval on July 18 last year.

Zairil said the Pan Island Link I (PIL I) project, which is another component of the PTMP, had obtained the EIA report approval with 56 conditions on April 10 last year.

“The Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) report was approved by the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) on Aug 24, 2018,” he said.

Zairil said the project delivery partner (PDP) SRS Consortium is currently working on the PTMP financial architecture.

As for the three paired roads project, Zairil said the roads project had obtained the EIA report approval on Nov 7, 2017 with 59 conditions.

“Works have started on the 5.7km Air Itam-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass (Package Two) on Oct 31 last year.

“The project contractor is finalising the detailed design amendments for Tanjung Bungah-Teluk Bahang paired road (Package One) and the Gurney Drive-Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway bypass (Package Three).

“The Penang government is still reviewing the draft of the feasibility study report that was submitted by Consortium Zenith Construction (CZC),” he said.

He added that no land was transferred to fund the feasibility study for the undersea tunnel.

“The only land transferred was for the feasibility study and detailed design for the three paired roads project,” he stressed.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

The property market experienced a correction in terms of pricing with more affordable housing launched in the first half of 2020 (1H2020).

National Property Information Centre (Napic) director Aina Edayu Ahmad said half of the new launches in 1H2020 comprised houses priced at RM300,000 and below (6,657 units), while the RM300,001-RM500,000 houses accounted for 28.9% (4,476 units) and houses priced over RM500,000 accounted for 21.1% (2,161 units).

“So we see that the market has done its own correction. In the past years, we have seen more of new launches in the higher range but now we are seeing more new launches in the range of RM300,000 and below,“ she said in her presentation on the Overview of the Malaysian Property Outlook at the 13th Malaysian Property Summit yesterday.

She was representing Napic director-general A’zmi Abdul Latif.

Aina Edayu said new residential launches, however, recorded a substantial drop of 43.6% to 13,294 units in the 1H2020 from 23,591 units in 1H2019.

She said all property market activities across the board had decreased, leading to a major decline in the overall property sector.

“Residential sector remains as a major contributor to the property sector, accounting for over 65% of the volume and nearly 55% in terms of value,” she said.

Aina Edayu said Selangor and Johor have the highest concentration of properties in the residential, commercial and industrial sector.

“In terms of pricing, properties priced RM300,000 and below in the residential segment are still capturing most of the market demand, which is why we should focus on having more affordable houses in this price range to allow the national aspiration to be achieved,“ she said.

However, she said although demand for the affordable range is higher, affordability is another matter as it is subject to loan approvals.

She said Napic is not expecting prices to drop significantly despite the declining price in the second quarter (Q2) of 2020 against Q1 2020 as prices seem to be holding up based on the Malaysian House Price Index, which showed a gradual upward movement in price for the past five years.

On the overhang in residential units, she said in 1H2020, the number of unsold residential properties rose to 31,661 units worth RM20.03 billion, compared with 30,664 units worth RM18.82 billion in 2H 2019, most of which were high-rise residential properties.

Of the overhang units, 21,683 were serviced apartments worth RM18.64 billion, an increase of 26.5 per cent in volume and 32.8% in value from 17,142 units worth RM15.04 billion in 2H2019.

Aina Edayu noted that the overhang in serviced apartments kept escalating over the years.

Units priced over RM1 million accounted for nearly one third (28.2%) of the overhang units, while those in the range of between RM600,000 and RM900,000 accounted for 47%.

“Nearly 16,000 of the total number of unsold serviced apartments are in Johor, whereby 34.3%of them are priced over RM1 million,” she said, adding that Selangor has 2,400 unsold units; 40.8 per cent of which priced between RM500,001 and RM600,000.

“Data also showed that properties over the RM500,000 price range accounted for about 69% of the overhang service apartment units,“ she said.

On outlook, Aina Edayu expects the property market to be influenced by the high level of uncertainties surrounding it, including the pace of the economic recovery, political stability and Covid-19.

“Although data did show some upturn in market activities earlier in the year, we would see a soft property market for the rest of 2020,“ she said.

Source: Bernama

Airbnb has today warned that Malaysia’s tourism recovery could be threatened by talk of proposed blanket bans on short-term rentals in strata buildings in Penang, Selangor and other states in Malaysia.

Prior to the pandemic, the Airbnb community in Malaysia made a significant contribution to the local tourism industry and economy. Research from Oxford Economics found in 2019 Airbnb guests spent a total of RM 4.4 billion (USD 1.1 billion) in Malaysia and supported more than 52,000 local jobs.

However, Airbnb’s role in helping kickstart Malaysia’s much-needed tourism recovery could be threatened by proposed blanket bans on short-term rentals in strata buildings. Earlier this year, Airbnb welcomed the Malaysia Productivity Corporation’s new guidelines for short-term accommodation, which provide an opportunity for the Malaysian government to simultaneously grow tourism and ensure compliance through responsible regulation.

“Airbnb believes all Malaysians should have the choice to responsibly and safely share their own home. We are strongly opposed to any unfair and heavy-handed blanket ban on short-term rentals in strata buildings,” said Mich Goh, Head of Public Policy, Southeast Asia, Airbnb. “The Malaysians who live in strata buildings rely on short-term rentals to earn extra income to pay the bills.”

“With economic recovery more important than ever, the key test for any policy must be – does it help grow the economy and create jobs for Malaysians? On that test, any proposal to ban short-term rentals in strata buildings fails. Blanket bans would have a devastating impact on the already weakened tourism industry. They threaten thousands of local jobs and the supplemental income that so many regular Malaysians rely on during these crucial times” she added.

By supporting clear and considered rules for short-term rentals in Malaysia that protect people’s choice to responsibly share their homes, while ensuring Joint Management Bodies and Management Corporations have appropriate oversight of short-term rentals in their buildings, Airbnb upholds its ongoing commitment to continue partnering with the Malaysian government and communities to spur tourism recovery.