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The proposed Penang undersea tunnel project will continue and is in its final stage of feasibility study, says Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

He said the state government’s technical consultant, HSSI Sdn Bhd, has reviewed the study prepared by Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC).

“The review on the draft report has been forwarded to CZC this month to make necessary amendments before it is finalised and endorsed by the state government.

“The next stage of the undersea tunnel project will be decided by the state executive council, but as of now, the project is still on,” he said in a question and answer session at the state legislative assembly sitting here on Friday (May 3).

The 7.2km tunnel project that connects Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam in Seberang Prai is under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), a state-run initiative.

Chow, who is also Padang Kota assemblyman, said the state government has yet to make payment to CZC.

“We will only make the payment after the final draft is confirmed by the technical consultant and presented to us for approval,” he said.

Answering to Mohd Yusni’s question on the investigation into the project by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC), he said the MACC had carried out an investigation into the project in the first quarter of 2018, and no prosecution has been made.

Chow, answering to Mohd Yusni’s supplementary question on whether a public exhibition on the construction of three highways would be held for residents affected by the project, the Chief Minister said the one month public exhibition was already being held.

He said the public exhibition was held along the proposed route including Komtar building, government offices and other public places, while the undersea tunnel project has yet to reach that stage.

Source: Bernama

The controversial Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project were included as part of the draft Penang Structure Plan 2030 (PSP2030) which is now in the process of being gazetted, the state legislative assembly was told today.

State exco Jagdeep Singh Deo (DAP – Datuk Keramat) said the PTMP was taken into account when preparing the draft PSP 2030.

“The Strategic Implementation Policy was formulated to ensure that the PTMP will be the main basic reference in the implementation of any aspect of transportation plans in the state,” he said in his winding-up speech.

He said the PSP 2030 is a planning document based on legal framework and by including the PTMP into it, the implementation of the mega project will be based on various technical conditions so that it will only bring positive impact to Penang.

Jagdeep said the PSR was also included into the PSP 2030 under its Special Policy for land reclamation.

“The preparation of the draft PSP 2030, which is now in the process of being gazetted, showed that the state government did not plan any mega developments arbitrarily but instead had taken into consideration studies to ensure the implementation of the projects especially PSR adheres to all technical requirements and do not cause negative impacts on the people of Penang,” he said.

He reiterated that a series of townhall and dialogue sessions were held on both PSR and PTMP to give stakeholders the opportunity to bring forward their views on the projects.

“Both projects were carefully planned with technical expertise and had also taken into consideration feedback from stakeholders,” Jagdeep said.

The PTMP is an estimated RM46 billion mega project that includes PSR to reclaim three islands as a funding module for the whole project, Pan Island Link 1 and LRT, among other transportation plans.

The draft PSP 2030 was approved by the state planning committee on March 14.

Jagdeep said it was tabled at the National Physical Planning Council on April 18 and approved.

The structure plan governs the types of development projects allowed in the state while outlining development plans for the state until 2030.

He also said the long overdue Penang Local Plan 2030 and Seberang Perai Local Plan 2030 are now being prepared by the Penang Island City Council and Seberang Perai Municipal Council respectively to be in line with the PSP 2030.

“Both local plans are expected to be gazetted at the end of this year and with the gazettment, it will allow for better enforcement in terms of ensuring agricultural zoning are maintained and not converted for other developments,” he said.

Local plans govern the types of developments and zoning of lands in the area it covered.

Source: MalayMail.com

It’s been a while since we last posted the most active projects. Many people have been asking how is the property market sentiment in Penang with all the negativity around the residential overhang situation.

According to our web traffic analytics, PenangPropertyTalk.com has recorded an increase of approximately 15% in pageviews to 1.16 million for the first 4 months of 2019, up from 1.01 million in the same period a year ago. This is an indication that people’s interest in Penang property remains strong, while the huge overhang is reflecting a mismatch between the supply and demand of house price and location.

Below is a list of 20 most active projects in the first four months of 2019. As indicated, half of them are affordable housing projects.

Top in the list is the affordable housing at The Zen condominium with a whopping 33,525 pageviews in early 2019. This project is part of the mixed development by Asia Green located next to Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway. Comprising around 2,000 condominium units in two 46-storey residential towers, 1,200 units of which are categorized under affordable housing. It is almost sold out now.

This is followed by Vivo Executive Apartment which was introduced less than 2 months ago by Aspen Group at Batu Kawan. It is probably one of the lowest priced housing projects in Penang (excluding affordable housing) with an indicative price of RM238,000 onwards. The 1,400-units apartment was fully booked within 2 weeks.

The Tamarind, ranked third in the list, has always been the top 3 most active projects of the year since its introduction in 2015. This 1,104-units executive apartment by E&O Property has continued to draw active discussion as the keys are handed over to the owners this year.

Apart from Vivo Executive Apartment, MARC Residences at Jalan Song Ban Kheng is the next project in Mainland which also make it to the top 20 list. This project stands out with its dual and tri-key concept, which offers the flexibility of generating passive income.

A few popular upcoming projects to take note include Bayan Baru City Centre, Queens Island and Muze @ PICC.

* Projects are ranked based on the pageviews recorded in Google Analytic web traffic report for PenangPropertyTalk.com.

– Ken Lim
(Founder, PenangPropertyTalk.com)

The future of the 1Malaysia People’s Housing (PR1MA) depends on the outcome of its due diligence and turnaround plan, said chairman Tan Sri Eddy Chen.

“We are working on a turnaround plan. Whether PR1MA will move forward or not, much depends on this turnaround plan,” he told press at an event organised by Rehda Institute here.

“The turnaround plan is to ensure we can recover money that we paid to contractors, as much as possible, in order for us to meet all our obligations and liabilities, Chen added.

Late last month, the Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was reported as saying that PR1MA was “cleaning up” its present “mess” — including debts and outstanding stocks — and that a due diligence report was expected to be completed within two months.

She also said that PR1MA would not be tasked with the construction of any new housing project.

PR1MA’s main problem is its substantial number of unsold units, most of which are located at less desirable areas. Chen said it has been very challenging for PR1MA, as its business model is numbers driven.

“It was given a big number to build and very little land to work with. So, a lot of them were built in locations that are questionable. The business model was wrong, in the sense that it was [based on] a master en bloc purchase agreement, which means that when we sign a contract with another party, we buy the land and we sign a contract agreement with them, but we have to pay for the whole contract, irrespective of the sales achieved,” Chen said.

He added that PR1MA practiced a build-then-sell concept, which would further exarcebate unsold properties issues, especially in the locations that are “less demanding”, in particular because market conditions turned subdued, after the project was completed.

“If you look at the amount of overhang properties, very substantial amounts come from PR1MA’s unsold units. This has become a challenge for PRIMA and we are in the process of sorting this out (overhang issue),” Chen added.

“It is a big challenge for PR1MA to meet these contracts (obligations), and we want to do our best to not default on these contracts.

“We’d like to have PR1MA successfully turn around, but it’s challenging. The turnaround plan is in place, but much depends on the take up rate for its projects,” Chen added.

To-date, PR1MA recorded 10,000 booked housing units, which is equivalent to a value of about RM2.3 billion.

Chen however noted that the sale of these booked units depend on the success of applicants’ loan approvals. He added that securing loan approvals for the Bottom 40 and Middle 40 income groups continue to be the biggest challenge, amid the current soft market condition.

PR1MA Housing Projects in Penang

Malaysia’s property sales surpass RM100 billion in first half of 2024

Malaysia’s property sector saw over RM100 billion in sales in the first half of 2024, exceeding the government’s full-year target ...

4,000 PR1MA affordable homes coming up in Penang

Perbadanan PR1MA Malaysia (PR1MA) under the Local Government Development Ministry will be building some 4,000 high-rise homes in Penang over ...

Prospective buyers no longer need a payslip to apply for a PR1MA housing loan

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced yesterday that the self-employed can now apply for loans for the Perbadanan Pr1ma ...

Ideal Venice Residency

Ideal Venice Residency, the second phase of PR1MA affordable housing development by Ideal Property Group at Island Glades. Strategically located near the ...

One out of three PR1MA projects cancelled in Penang

The government, via the Housing and Local Government Ministry (KPKT), disbursed RM172 million as compensation for 17 cancelled 1Malaysia Housing ...

Residensi Pauh Permai

Residensi Pauh Permai, formerly known as Residensi Permatang Pauh in mainland Penang, undertaken by Excel Focus Properties Sdn. Bhd. Strategically ...

PR1MA @ Bukit Gelugor

One of the first few PR1MA affordable housing approved in Penang. This development is strategically located on Kampung Kastam land near ...

Residensi Batu Ferringhi

*PROJECT CANCELLED* (Related news) Residensi Batu Ferringhi, formerly known as PR1MA affordable housing, is strategically located along Jalan Sungai Satu ...

Source: EdgeProp.my

How other cities worldwide tackle their Airbnb problems are being studied to see if the home-sharing business could be legalised or regulated in Penang.

The office of the Penang State Exco for Tourism Development, Arts, Culture and Heritage (Petach) is studying their policies to tackle the issue of residential home owners who rent out their units as if they were running a hotel or serviced apartment.

Its exco member Yeoh Soon Hin (pic) said the global home-sharing business was quite established in Penang now that when people buy a house or condominium unit, someone might approach them and offer to guide them to sign up with Airbnb and make money from their new property.

He told the assembly that Penang Global Tourism had met with Airbnb’s management team to discuss how to regulate the business.

“Airbnb told us that they are ready to cooperate and register Airbnb units in Penang with the local authority, but we have no laws or policies for this yet,” he said.

Yeoh said in San Francisco, Airbnb operators are limited to renting their homes to a maximum of 90 days a year.

“In Catalonia, Spain, Airbnb operators can be fined up to 30,000 Euros (RM140,000) and the unit owners fined up to 90,000 Euros (RM420,000) if there are complaints.

“In Singapore, the Urban Redevelopment Authority is proposing to limit Airbnb units to only allow up to six people each time to rent them and for only up to 90 days a year.

“For strata units, Singapore plans to allow it only if at least 80% of all unit owners in the building give consent.

“Japan enacted a law to allow home-sharing of units for only up to 180 days a year,” he said when replying a question from Daniel Gooi Zi Sen (PH-Pengkalan Kota).

Gooi said he was concerned because despite strong enforcement from Penang Island City Council since 2017 to stop residential property owners from using their units commercially, the Airbnb portal lists thousands of units in Penang.

“We cannot deny property owners from benefitting from their assets, but we also cannot let them continue to operate without paying their dues such as commercial assessment rates or the hotel fee,” he said.

Yeoh said Petach was studying how Airbnb operators are regulated while waiting for the federal government to draft laws on home-sharing.

“We raised the issue and were told that the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry are studying possible laws on this.”

Yeoh said the business was unfair to neighbours, the hotel industry and local authorities.

“They are paying assessments and utility rates for residential units but are using those units commercially while legal hotels that comply with all laws such as safety and traffic provisions pay much more.

“The peace and privacy of their neighbours are being intruded upon,” Yeoh said.

He said his team in Petach was also considering the possibility of recommending that Airbnb operators be charged double or triple the current residential assessment rates that they are paying now after they are legalised.

Source: TheStar.com.my