The works on the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project are expected to begin first quarter of next year.

Penang Infrastructure Corporation Sdn Bhd (PICSB) chief executive officer Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said the implementation works of Island A would be the first to start.

“The scheduled reclamation works will be done in phases. The first phase involves reclaiming 1,200 acres of Island A.

“Phase One is expected to take about four years to complete,” Farizan told Buletin Mutiara at the stakeholders’ engagement centre (Pusat Perkhidmatan Setempat Nelayan), off Permatang Damar Laut today.

The tri-islands PSR project (Island A, B and C) 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.

Farizan said that it would take about nine years to fully reclaim Island A.

“We expect to be able to start selling by the fourth year,” he said.

The PICSB is the special purpose vehicle that will be leading the implementation of the mega projects under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

PICSB was successfully incorporated on July 9 this year.

The company will be working on the implementation of mega projects in the state, such as the Bayan Lepas LRT (BL LRT), Pan Island Link 1 and 2A (PIL 1 and PIL 2A) and the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) that have been entrusted to SRS Consortium as the project delivery partner.

PICSB will also be working on the implementation of the three highways and the undersea tunnel projects that are entrusted to the Consortium Zenith Construction (CZC) Sdn Bhd as the design and built contractor.

In addition, the PICSB will be involved in the planning and development of the PSR, which include the topside development.

Farizan said that it has been the state’s intention to meet the conditions set by Department of Environment (DoE) for the PSR project.

“Some conditions have to be complied prior to the implementation of the project. Others will have to be complied during the implementation of the project.

“We have to start the project before June 24 next year (2021). The Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report of the PSR was approved by the DoE on June 25, 2019, with 72 conditions to be complied with,” he said, adding that the EIA approval has a two-year validity period.

Stakeholders engagement

Over 5,000 people have been engaged since December 2015 to July this year.

Farizan said that various parties have been engaged over the years; such as fishermen, beach users, business operators and even hatchery operators.

“A total of 5,762 people has been engaged. The stakeholders can get updated and correct information pertaining to the PSR project from the stakeholders’ engagement centres,” he said.

There are currently two centres available – one in Permatang Damar Laut and the other in Gertak Sanggul.

Better facilities, brighter future

Farizan said that the fishermen would not be ‘directly’ impacted by the land reclamation.

“The reclamation works will not be done from the shore onwards. Instead, it will be done 250m away from the shore (seaward), allowing a 250m water channel for the fishermen to conduct fishing activities and to navigate towards the deeper end of the sea.

“There will also be a 250m channel between Island A, B and C.

“We try to cater to the requests of the fishermen to ensure a win-win situation. The fishermen can go out to sea and continue their fishing activities despite the reclamation works,” he said.

SRS Consortium deputy project director Azmi Mohamad said the 250m water channel proposal was considered after taking into consideration the hydraulic studies and reports that were approved by the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID).

SRS Consortium strategic communications and stakeholder management department head Audrey Lakai said that the company had proposed to provide a total of four fishermen jetties to assist the fishermen units affected by the reclamation works.

Farizan said that one of the jetties would be located near the proposed Bayan Lepas LRT station in Permatang Damar Laut.

“It is a prime location and it has a huge potential. Travellers using the Bayan Lepas LRT can hop off at the LRT station in Permatang Damar Laut and enjoy a nice seafood cuisine before heading to their next destination.

“We hope to provide better facilities to uplift the livelihood of the fishermen and the communities living in the area with the implementation of the PSR project,” Farizan said.

He added that it is important for the PSR project to materialise as it is the funding model of the PTMP.

Source: Buletin Mutiara

Convent Light Street (CLS), the country’s oldest convent school, will be turned into a private international school that teaches the British syllabus.

The Sisters of the Holy Infant Jesus (SIJ) order, which runs the convent, said while the new school will retain its identity, it will function as a co-ed school.

In a statement today, SIJ said the new operators will implement the plan immediately in part of the school’s premises as soon as government approvals are obtained.

CLS’s last batch of pupils will graduate from the national education system in 2024.

In 2017, SIJ had sought to reclaim the convent, which teaches both primary and secondary levels, from the education ministry. This led to speculation that the school might be permanently closed amid opposition by the state government and a strong alumni body.

The Sisters later said they had no plans to close down the school but wanted to opt out of the national system because of low enrolment and escalating costs in the upkeep of a heritage building. The government acceded to SIJ’s request in 2018.

SIJ said it has appointed ACE Edventure, which is founded by the school’s alumni Anne Tham and Melinda Lim, to run the new school in collaboration with the Sisters.

“Our mission is to provide wholesome education to children, irrespective of race or creed.

“The Sisters had been actively meeting with a number of reputable school operators over the last one year to identify one with similar aspirations and like-mindedness.

“They found in ACE Edventure a good fit. They are able to provide affordable learning that is dynamic, progressive and relevant. Most importantly, they are willing to maintain the ethos of the SIJ convent schools which places emphasis on character building,” the statement added.

SIJ said the international school will offer Year 1 to Year 10 classes leading to the International General Certificate of Secondary Education with an entrepreneurial component.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

D’Halona Place, yet another landed residential development at Tasek Gelugor by Pavilion Everise Sdn. Bhd. (a subsidiary of GSD Land). It is located along Jalan Kubang Menerong, just a stone’s throw away from Setia Fontaines and Bandar Putra Bertam. This development is about 10 minutes drive from North-South Expressway via Sungai Dua interchange.

The proposed housing scheme comprises a mix of landed houses and shop offices, to be developed in multiple phases:

Phase 1

• 2-storey terrace (23 units)
• 1-storey terrace (304 units)

Phase 2

• 2-storey shop office (49 units)

Phase 3

• 2-storey terrace (16 units)
• 1-storey terrace (209 units)

Project Name: D’Halona Place
Location: Tasek Gelugor
Property Type: Terrace & shop offices
Tenure: Freehold
Land Area: 1,429 sq.ft. (1-storey terrace), 1,540 sq.ft. (2-storey terrace)
Built-up Size: 989 sq.ft. (-storey terrace), 1,978 sq.ft.(2-storey terrace) onwards
Total Units: 39 (2-storey terrace), 513 (1-storey terrace), 49 (shop office)
Indicative Price: RM272k (1-storey terrace), RM380k (2-storey terrace) onwards
Developer: Pavilion Everise Sdn. Bhd. (GSD Land)

Location Map:

Bank Negara Malaysia (BNM) is expected to make one final 25 basis point (bps) cut in the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) as early as in the central bank’s next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting on Sept 10, 2020 in anticipation of an arduous economic recovery path ahead, DBS Group said today.

DBS senior economist Irvin Seah and strategist Duncan Tan wrote in a note that there is room for further monetary easing to support economic growth in the coming months.

“Onshore IRS (interest rate swap) markets are pricing ~70-80% chance for one last BNM rate cut (25bps) of this easing cycle, either to occur at the Sept 10 or Nov 3 meeting. This would mean BNM hitting our estimate of the policy lower bound of 1.5%, by the end of the year.

“Note (that) BNM had cut the OPR by a total of 125bps year-to-date to 1.75% to complement the equally robust fiscal measures aimed at buffering the economy from the impact of the pandemic. But with growth surprising on the downside and an arduous recovery path ahead notwithstanding, there is room for further monetary easing to support growth in the coming months.

“As such, we now expect one final 25bps cut by BNM as early as in the forthcoming September meeting, to better align the risks in both inflation and growth,” Seah and Tan said.

According to them, Malaysia’s real gross domestic product (GDP) growth contracted by a sharp 17.1% in the second quarter of 2020 (2Q20) from a year earlier. In quarterly terms, they said 2Q20 GDP dropped 51.3% from 1Q20.

They said beyond the direct impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the health front and strong external headwinds resulting from a slump in global demand, the implementation of Malaysia’s Movement Control Order (MCO) to curb the spread of the pandemic is the main factor behind the 2Q20 growth downturn.

“The downside surprise in 2Q GDP growth has significantly lowered the growth trajectory for the full year. The anticipated turnaround in the third and fourth quarter may not be enough to offset the sharp second quarter decline.

“Headline GDP growth will remain stuck in negative territory for the rest of the year. We have thus lowered our 2020 full year GDP growth forecast to -5.5%, which is at the lower end of the official forecast range of -5.5% to – 3.5%, and the lowest since the Asian Financial Crisis, (during) which the economy contracted by 7.4% in 1998. However, with the low base this year and the global recovery that is currently underway, albeit slowly, we see (Malaysia’s) GDP growth rebounding to 6.0% in 2021,” they said.

Malaysia’s disinflationary pressure is seen building up and the nation’s negative output gap is seen widening amid recessionary economic conditions. Seah and Tan said today even though inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), has recovered to -1.3% in July, the headline number is expected to remain stuck in negative level for the rest of 2020.

Full year (2020) inflation is projected to average -1.1% before rebounding to 1.8% in 2021, they said.

Source: EdgeProp.my

Newly proposed small landed housing development by Airmas Group at Butterworth. Located on a 1.5-acre land near the ever-bustling Jalan Raja Uda, it is less than 4km away from Penang Sentral and Butterworth ferry terminal. The site is next to Taman Riang, surrounded by mature amenities which include banks, popular eateries, markets, schools, hypermarkets.

The proposed development will feature 18 units of 2-storey terrace and 1 unit of bungalow houses.

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

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Raja Uda, Butterworth
Property Type : Semi-detached and bungalow
Tenure : Freehold
Land Area: 1.46 acre
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Total Units : 1 (bungalow), 18 (semi-detached)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Airmas Development Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map: