A developer is planning to build a theme park on the southern part of Jerejak Island, the state legislative assembly heard today.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (PH – Padang Kota) said the developer submitted a development master plan for the island two years ago, adding that this had been approved.

“The theme park was part of the master plan the developer submitted,” he said when replying to an oral question by A.Kumaresan (PH – Batu Uban).

The master plan also included a bridge to connect Bayan Mutiara on Penang Island to the smaller Jerejak Island that is located on the east coast of the main island.

However, Chow said local authorities have not received any request for planning permission for the theme park.

He confirmed that the developer submitted an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the whole project on Jerejak on June 21.

“The EIA takes into account the ecological impact of the project and the report was approved on July 20,” he said.

He said the master plan only involved developing part of the island’s coasts and will not encroach onto hill land above 76 metres.

Since it is not on hill land, Chow said a detailed geographical impact study was not necessary.

Kumaresan then asked a supplementary question on whether there were plans by the Tourism and Culture Ministry to turn Jerejak into a heritage site.

He also raised concerns about traffic in and out of the island from the proposed bridge connecting it to the main island.

Chow responded to say the state government has not received notification from the ministry about any plans to turn the island into a heritage site.

On the bridge, he said the initial plans for traffic using the bridge are only restricted to electric cars and only for residents on the island.

Source: Malay Mail

Pavilion Residence, a low density high-rise development by Greenview Pavilion Sdn. Bhd. in Seberang Jaya, Penang. Located next to JPJ Headquarter, just a stone’s throw away from Tesco Extra. Neighboring communities include Taman Seri Arowana, Taman Arowana Emas and Taman Semilang.

This development will feature a 26-storey condominium offering 78 residential units and 4 level of multi-storey car park.

More details will be available upon official launch.

Project Name: Pavilion Residence
Location : Seberang Jaya, Penang
Property Type : Condominium
Tenure : (to be confirmed)
Built-up Size: 1,280 sq.ft. – 1,560 sq.ft.
Total Units : 78
Indicative Price : RM633,000 onwards
Developer : Greenview Pavilion Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

The long wait will soon be over and commuters will finally get to use the new transport hub in Penang Sentral, Butterworth.

The transport hub on the mainland, which can take 3,000 to 4,000 passengers a day, will finally open its door to the public on Nov 22 after an 11-year wait.

The official opening, however, will be in December.

The project, which began in 2007, was hindered by land acquisition issues and construction of the hub was jump-started in 2015.

Passengers can head to level two of the new terminal for ticketing services.

Bus ticket counters, taxi terminal, the walkway to the ferry terminal and the Butterworth KTM station, information centre and surau are also at level two.

Level three will be the main lobby or drop-off zone for vehicle passengers. There are also an information counter, an auxiliary police office and a food court.

The parking management office is on level six whereas the parking area will be from level six to level nine.

For further information or enquiries, proceed to the information counters or contact the Penang Sentral management (04-3242762) or email pssb.marketing@mrcb.com.

The RM2.7bil development is modelled after Kuala Lumpur Sentral and is built on 12.8ha of land.

The centrepiece of the first phase is the 10-storey transport terminal overlooking George Town on the island.

There will be seven phases to the project which will be built over a period of 12 years until 2030.

The future phases would be considered only upon market demand. This involves serviced apartments, SOHO and commercial development.

Source: TheStar.com.my

A national research institute director says the peer-to-peer (P2P) financing scheme for housing announced in Budget 2019 benefits investors more than home owners, and has urged the government to review the scheme thoroughly.

“P2P finance is an investment scheme, there’s nothing to say that it’s an ownership scheme.

“With the scheme, you co-own with a number of investors who actually just want to make a capital appreciation.

“It is not something that will increase home ownership, it is only something that would increase house prices because what they want is for the prices to appreciate,” Suraya Ismail, director of Khazanah Research Institute said after a panel discussion at a Real Estate and Housing Developers’ Association’s (Rehda) Budget 2019 event.

She argued that house prices needed to be affordable first, instead of using financing methods to make houses appear affordable, adding that the P2P scheme proposed by the government “can be improved”.

During the panel discussion earlier, Suraya pointed out that the P2P scheme is the first of its kind, saying: “Never before has the principles of ownership and investment be parked together, and it is as if you can divorce it later. This puts unnecessary risk on the owners.”

Meanwhile, she also said that property purchases for the purpose of asset accumulation, or investment, could not be included when assessing the overall housing market because this would distort the demand.

Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng, in the 2019 Budget announcement had said the government would be approving private sector-driven “property crowdfunding” platforms to serve as an alternative source of financing for first-time house buyers.

The Securities Commission will regulate these platforms under the P2P financing framework.

Under the P2P financing framework, the buyer will be able to acquire a selected property by paying 20% of the price. They will be able to choose from a wide array of high-rise and landed homes of different prices and locations showcased on the website.

The remaining 80% will be borne by potential investors who fund the purchase in exchange for its potential appreciation in value over a particular period of time.

The House Buyers Association (HBA) has criticised the move, saying that it may open up floodgates for scams, unsold properties, and there are uncertainties as to how the mechanism would work.

Source: FMT News

The state government should exempt developers from paying compliance costs for all affordable housing units in the state, a backbencher told the state legislative assembly today.

Kebun Bunga assemblyman Ong Khan Lee said such exemptions would further reduce affordable home prices here.

He also urged Penang to apply big data analytics to its housing information system, saying this would reduce mismatches between buyers and available affordable homes.

It would also reduce the incidents of rich buyers exploiting loopholes to purchase low— and medium-cost homes with cash.

He suggested that the state government also appoint an independent party to audit the application process and approval for public housing, low-cost, medium-cost and affordable housing units.

Ong also spoke about road congestion on the island and proposed a fee for vehicles from out of state.

“This will encourage visitors to use the public transport to enter Penang and this special fee will reduce the number of vehicles entering Penang,” he said.

He said 10 years ago, Penang has about 300,000 vehicles on the road but now, it is flooded with one million vehicles.

Source: Malay Mail