Penang Chief Minister, Chow Kon Yeow is targeting for the Light Rail Transit (LRT) project under Penang Transport Master Plan to begin during his tenure.

Chow said the LRT project would take a longer time to complete in Penang but he hoped to see the project commence within five years.

“The LRT project will take between six to eight years, so if we could start in two to three years, we would be moving ahead slightly,” he told Bernama in an interview recently.

He added that in the past three years, the state government was concentrating on efforts to conduct studies on the LRT project to fulfil the conditions of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) or the Town and Country Planning Department (JPBD).

After the 14th General Election (GE14) last month, Chow was appointed as chief minister to replace Lim Guan Eng who was appointed Finance Minister in Tun Dr Mahathir’s cabinet.

In the previous term, Chow held the State Local Government, Traffic Management and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman and he is currently the State Land Matters and Land Development, Information and Transportation Committee chairman.

Chow who is also Tanjong MP said if the approval for LRT is acquired in two to three years, maybe construction will start within this term.

“If we could begin construction, it will be another six to eight years before we will get a new modern public transport in Penang,” he said.

Before this, Chow expressed the hope that mega projects in the state would be expedited if the Penang state government was aligned with the federal government.

Among the state’s mega projects are the undersea tunnel encompassing the construction of three main highways, Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project, Penang Sky Cab and LRT which are estimated to cost RM46 billion in total.

Nonetheless, the Padang Kota assemblyman said there were constraints on the proposal by several non-governmental organisations for a tram system to overcome the high cost of building the LRT.

He said to date, there were quarters who questioned the suitability of the LRT project in Penang but at the same time, not all roads in Penang were built according to the standard for a tram system.

“If tram is built on the existing roads, the capacity of roads will be reduced less while the LRT or MRT could be build on overhead or underground tracks,” he said.

Source: Bernama

Jelutong Villa, a small residential development by BTK Land Sdn. Bhd. at Bukit Dumbar, Penang. Located off Jalan Faraday, just a short drive to Tesco Hypermarket and Udini Square. Neighboring communities include Sinar Bukit Dumbar Aparment, Bukit Dumbar Residence and Edge 360 Condominium.

This development features 8 units of 3-storey bungalow and semi-detached houses with home lift. Indicative selling price starts from RM2,550,000 onwards.

Project Name : Jelutong Villa
Location : Bukit Dumbar
Property Type : Semi-detached and bungalows
Built-up Size: 4,465 sq.ft (semi-d), 6,521 sq.ft.(bungalow)
Total Units:: 8
Land Tenure: Freehold
Target Completion: 2020
Indicative Price: RM2.55mil (semi-d), RM3.8mil (bungalows) onwards
Developer : BTK Land Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

A proposed mixed development by Era Alpha Buildings Sdn. Bhd. at Tasek Gelugor. Located on an approximately 5-acre land along Jalan Permatang Manggis, about 1km away from Tasek Gelugor KTM Stesen. It is only about 25 minutes drive to Penang Bridge and Butterworth town centre.

This development comprises 17 units of 2-storey shop offices and 49 units of terrace houses.

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

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location : Raja Uda, Butterworth, Penang
Property Type : Serviced residence & commercial
Total Units: 196 (serviced residence), 26 (shop office)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer: Enlight Homes Sdn. Bhd. 

Location Map:

Foreigners are allowed to buy up the over a century-old shop houses within the Unesco World Heritage enclave, said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

He however said they must adhere to guidelines on conservation and preserving the properties.

Chow said the state welcomes investors, who are keen to participate in the long-term conservation and preservation of the heritage zone as stipulated by Unesco.

He said the situation of foreigners owning heritage properties was controlled, with only 3% to 4% of some 40,000 shop houses and other properties within the 109.38 zone, owned by foreigners.

Chow said the state government would also monitor these properties.

He said this after visiting an exhibition on the 10th anniversary celebrations of George Town’s listing as a World Heritage site under Unesco.

Chow said that foreigners must understand the need for Penang to undertake a strong effort to protect its heritage legacy.

As for the future, Chow said that Penang aspires for George Town to be a living heritage city with the core and intangible values of conserving and preserving not only buildings; but culture, traditions and gastronomic delights.

He said that for the next 10-years of its Unesco listing, Penang should be an exemplary township in terms of reliving its heritage values.

Chow said the buildings must be preserved in its original form before allowing tenancy or commercial occupants to move in.

The exhibition at Gat Lebuh China runs for over a month.

It is situated at the building which houses the federal government-linked company — Think City Sdn Bhd, an agency under the Finance Ministry.

Think City assists the George Town World Heritage Incorporated (GTWHI), the local authority on heritage, in ensuring that Penang upkeeps its Unesco status.

Among the interesting exhibits were insightful accounts of the state’s history as well as a pictorial of Penang as a base for the civil society movement.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Tierra Residences, a landed residential development by Northern Gold Development Sdn. Bhd. at Bayan Lepas, Penang. Located along Jalan Dato Ismail Hashim, situated between the ongoing One Foresta affordable housing development and Mont Tierra Residences. It is less than 10 minutes drive from Penang International Airport.

This development will feature a guarded housing scheme offering offer 65 units of 3-storey terrace houses with a 2-storey community hall.

Project Name : Tierra Residences
Location : Bayan Lepas
Property Type : Guarded residential development
Built-up Size: (to be confirmed)
Total Units:: 65
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Northern Gold Development Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map: