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Building an airport on one of Penang’s three man-made islands off the southern coast of the state will keep the airport within the state, Chow Kon Yeow said.

The Penang chief minister said the administration wanted to keep the airport on the island instead of moving it elsewhere.

“It is needed in Seberang Perai or elsewhere, it is a fact we have to accept since we do not have any more lands in Penang island which is why we came up with proposal to build it on one of the reclaimed islands,” he said in a press conference today after attending the launch of a gender equality policy programme.

He said the current Penang International Airport (PIA) has constraints when it comes to expansion plans for it.

“The terminal capacity can be expanded to cater to 16 million passengers, even up to 20 million passengers but can the runway cope with this load?” he asked.

He said it was impossible to expand the runway as there were not enough lands at the existing airport unless they relocate factories nearby.

“That is why in the long run, we are looking at a new airport on one of the PSR islands,” he said, referring to the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

The PSR was to create three man-made islands off Permatang Damar Laut on the southern coast of the main island.

It is the funding module for the state’s proposed RM46 billion Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

Chow said the state has already engaged with consultants to draw up terms of reference and scope of studies for the proposed new airport.

“First, we are conducting a study on whether there is a need for the airport, we are talking about 30 years from now,” he said.

As for Kedah’s proposed Kulim airport, Chow said the Kedah Mentri Besar has mentioned that it will be a cargo airport.

He said a lot of studies will still need to be done on whether there is a need for a cargo airport in Kulim.

“I will leave it to them to conduct the studies so it is still very early to be talking about the airport,” he said.

When asked about the pending approvals for PSR and PTMP, Chow said he had brought both projects up in Putrajaya when he was there for meetings last week and early this week.

“With regards to the LRT, the person from APAD wanted us to get the PSR presented to the National Physical Planning Council and also to submit the EIA report,” he said.

APAD is the Land Public Transport Commission.

Chow said the state had already submitted the environmental impact assessment (EIA) but they had to improve on it based on feedback from various committees.

“So APAD said if we can finalise it, the LRT approval will be forthcoming,” he said.

The light rail transit (LRT) line, connecting Bayan Lepas to George Town, is one of the projects proposed under the PTMP including the controversial Pan Island Link 1(PIL1).

Chow said he had asked the transport ministry to give the state conditional approval for the LRT project so that the state can start working on complying with other requirements.

“Or we can get our PSR approved first. In the earlier days, we were told to get our LRT scheme approved first but at this rate, nothing will move,” he said.

The Penang state government is hoping to get the LRT conditional approval once it tables its presentation on the PTMP and PSR to the National Physical Planning Council in April.

Source: MalayMail.com

With eight days away from the opening of IKEA Batu Kawan, the Swedish home furnishing retailer is fueling even more excitement with a slew of in-store activities and unbeatable promotions for its opening weekends. Promising a great day out for the entire family, the retailer is inviting everyone to the highly anticipated opening of Malaysia’s fourth IKEA store!

IKEA Batu Kawan is a respond to the growing demand for more IKEA stores throughout the country. With a wide range of home furnishing inspiration and solutions, this store will soon meet the increasingly urbanised lifestyle of Penangites and northern Malaysians. In extension to that, IKEA Batu Kawan is set to present customers with a unique blend of Swedish and local heritage, from food to home furnishing solutions, store features to living spaces.

“When the clock strikes 10.00am on Thursday, 14 March, millions of customers from the northern region will finally enjoy easier access to well-designed, functional, quality and low-priced Swedish home furnishings. We can’t wait to welcome customers through our doors as we live up to our vision of creating a better everyday life for the many people,” said Pathmalingam Arumugam, Store Manager of IKEA Batu Kawan.

Fondly termed as the store for the many people, IKEA Batu Kawan alongside neighbouring developments will soon activate Aspen Vision City into a vibrant retail hotspot. As Penang’s new liveable landmark, IKEA is ready to make homes in the northern region even more comfortable with over 8,000 home furnishing products and 49 locally inspired showrooms.

Preparation is on the way as the retailer gears for an exciting and memorable opening. On 14 March, the first 10,000 customers will enjoy free goodies, in addition to the promotions and in-store activities for the entire family during the opening weeks. For more information on the promotions and in-store happenings, visit IKEA.my/BatuKawan.

With 1,950 parking bays and easy access via the Second Penang Bridge and major highways (Lebuhraya Bandar Cassia and North-South Expressway), IKEA Batu Kawan is located at 752, Persiaran Cassia Barat 8, 14110 Bandar Cassia, Penang (GPS coordinates: 5.23387 N, 100.43993 E). The store officially opens at 10am on 14 March 2019 (Thursday).

IKEA Roof Capping Event (15 Feb 2019)

The Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (MIEA) has urged the government to extend the incentives offered during the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to first-time home buyers looking to buy from the secondary market.

“MIEA is very appreciative of the fact that the Finance Ministry has introduced new programmes to stimulate the primary market by focusing on first-time home buyers, however it is critical that we should not close the door to first-time property buyers by limiting incentives to only properties offered by developers,” it said in a statement today.

MIEA said that the stamp duty exemption on instrument of transfer, which has been extended from Jan 1 to June 30 this year for properties ranging from RM300,001 to RM1 million, be made available for first-time home buyers of secondary properties.

It also urged the government to offer the stamp duty exemption on instrument of transfer for loans up to RM1 million during the same period to this category of buyers.

“There are significantly more varieties of homes at affordable prices for first-time home buyers within the secondary property market. Based on this premise, we should allow for the exemption of stamp duties to cover the purchase of homes within the secondary market by first-time buyers,” it added.

MIEA has suggested that a “Rent & Buy Programme” be set up for this category of buyers, through a special vehicle or banks to help them in two areas namely funds for a down payment and loan eligibility.

“We also request Bank Negara Malaysia to study and implement a fair and equitable loan approval and streamlined process for first time buyers and/or set up a special revolving fund to fund these buyers.

“This will allow for a shift in the dynamics of the property market, not only allowing for the disposal of ‘overhang’ properties but also unsold completed projects that are vacant,” it said.

According to the National Property Information Centre, 80% of all residential property transactions nationwide are from the secondary market while the primary market makes up the remaining 20%.

As such, MIEA said that the secondary market is the “bedrock” of the property sector, which sustains the real estate market and provides the thrust for its sustained growth.

It also urged the government to provide support to the real estate fraternity and real estate firms to modernise through technology and digitisation, and proposed that a tax exemption be given to those who are keen to invest in digitisation.

Source: Malay Mail

Penang state government will turn some of its low cost housing units into rent-to-own schemes and offer it to those who applied for people’s housing project (PPR) units.

Penang state exco Jagdeep Singh Deo said the shortage of PPR units in the state meant the administration had to look for alternative solutions.

The local government, housing development and town and country planning committee chairman said those who have been in the waiting list for PPR units for over a decade will be given priority to take up these units.

“We launched two pilot rent-to-own schemes in Jawi and it was nearly sold out so the latest two we are looking into are in Kampung Tok Subuh in Bukit Minyak and Balik Pulau,” he said.

He said the low cost housing project in Balik Pulau consisted of 1,153 units but the state planned to turn about half of it into rent-to-own schemes.

“There will be about 800 more rent-to-own units available from the projects in Bukit Minyak and Balik Pulau,” he said.

Jagdeep said Penang only has 999 PPR units while the state’s waiting list for PPR units now stand at 1,137 applicants.

He admitted that a majority of the demands were for PPR units in the north east district of the island, around George Town.

“We are working hard to have PPR and rent-to-own schemes in all districts to cater to applicants from everywhere,” he said.

He said rent-to-own schemes will benefit the applicants as it would give them a sense of ownership while at the same time, turn them into home owners.

Penang government has identified a 4-acre land in Jelutong for 1,000 units of PPR. Currently, the land still has some squatters so the state will need to relocate the squatters before they could hand over the land to the federal government to build PPR flats, he said.

When asked about the eviction of 22 tenants from Taman Manggis, a PPR housing, Jagdeep said they will still need to vacate the premises by tomorrow.

“Those who appealed against the eviction will get the decision today and if their appeal is rejected, they will have to vacate the units,” he said.

He said some tenants were found to have rented out the RM128 per month units at RM500 to RM600 to others.

“This is unacceptable and those who already bought their own homes are also ineligible,” he said.

He said it is unfair for these ineligible tenants to continue living in PPR units meant for the poor.

He said out of the 1,137 applicants on the waiting list for PPR units, 22 of them have waited for over 10 years while 271 waited for over seven years.

“How can we answer to these people who have waited so long for a PPR unit if we do not evict ineligible tenants from these units,” he asked.

He said the state housing department officers are always accompanied by police and enforcement officers from the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) when sealing the units to evict those ineligible.

Source: TheSunDaily.my