A project previously known as The Presidence at Jalan Baru. Picture is for illustration only.

Property developer Hua Yang Bhd is proposing a mixed development with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM311 million in Seberang Prai, Penang, which will comprise 480 units of serviced apartments, 148 units of condominium, and 16 units of two-storey shops (previously known as The Presidence along Jalan Baru).

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, it was revealed that the plan will first involve Hua Yang acquiring G Land Development Sdn Bhd, a company based in Bukit Mertajam, Penang, for RM16.55 million.

On completion of the acquisition, G Land, as a wholly-owned unit of Hua Yang, will then acquire from GIM Standard Development Sdn Bhd, also based in Penang, six parcels of freehold land measuring 8.59 acres for RM25 million, cash. The net book value of the land is RM7.98 million.

The directors of GIM Standard are Khor Chong Hai, Khor Chong Guan and Ng Siew Hui. The land parcels, located 3km from the Penang bridge, will be developed into the proposed mixed development.

The purchase price for the tracts was arrived at on a willing buyer willing seller basis, after considering the development potential of the parcels and comparing the properties with the market value of matured properties around the area, said Hua Yang. No formal valuation was commissioned.

To effect the first acquisition, Hua Yang has entered into a conditional shares sales agreement with Phuah Cheng Peng and Ng Kok Kheng today to acquire the entire stake in G Land.

Hua Yang said it is still preliminary to ascertain the total development cost of the mixed project, the expected commencement date of the development, and the expected profits to be derived from the development of the property.

But it noted that the development cost of the property will be funded by internally generated funds.

It added that the acquisitions are in line with the Hua Yang Group’s objective to expand into mainland Penang, and is expected to contribute positively to its future earnings.

Its board expects the proposed acquisition to be completed by the fourth quarter of the financial year ending March 31, 2016.

Hua Yang shares closed down 2 sen or 1.04% today at RM1.91, with a market capitalisation of RM504.24 million.

Source: TheEdgeMarkets.com

The Penang government has relaxed the ownership eligibility for affordable housing in the state.

State Housing Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said 30% of the units in an all-affordable housing project can be purchased on the open market without government vetting.

He however said these units were priced 10% higher while those located in the Northeast District (where George Town is) will be 20% more.

He said the monies derived from such sales will be returned to the state “in kind” through housing units of the project to be sold to those eligible or via a rent-to-own scheme.

He noted that the state was engaged in constructing two all-affordable housing projects while the private sector had nine such projects currently with 8,375 units on offer.

“All these developments will enjoy the loosening of requirements to ensure such projects are implemented without delay,” he said in a press conference today.

Price-controlled housing options in Penang comprise low-cost units at RM42,000, low-medium cost units at RM72,500 and RM150,000.

Affordable housing units are priced at RM200,000, RM300,000 and RM400,000 and come with a minimum size and amenities requirement.

On another housing issue, Jagdeep said the 4,178 civil servants in Penang will be given priority for affordable housing units.

He said the administration made the decision as there was no information regarding the status of 1Malaysia Housing Projects (PR1MA) and 1Malaysia Civil Servants Housing (PPA1M) units in the state from the federal government.

He said the state government was not informed if any such projects were to be built in Penang adding a letter seeking information from the Urban Well-being, Housing and Local Government Ministry was sent on Nov 23.

Source: TheSunDaily.my

Residents who are fed up with traffic congestion on the island want the proposed Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) and the Pan Island Link (PIL) highway to be implemented as soon as possible to ease the daily gridlock.

Those living in high-density and lower-income areas in Jelutong, Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Permatang Damar Laut say that the situation has gotten really bad in the last five years, and worse after the Second Penang Bridge was opened last year.

“We have no alternative public transport during morning and evening peak hours, and the buses are irregular. We have no choice but to drive our vehicles, but the roads are so congested between 7am-9am and 4.30pm-7.30pm on weekdays,” said fisherman Azhar bin Yusof, 54.

“We don’t know where and who to channel our frustration. We really want the authorities to look into this,” said Azhar who is on the committee of the Kampung Tepi Laut fishermen’s association in the Permatang Damar Laut area.

He said the residents were hopeful that work could start soon on the LRT and PIL, the first components of the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

Ung Looi Hoon, 44, who operates a stationery shop in the Macallum Street area, said: “I have been living here all my life and have been running my own business here for the last 25 years. The traffic has gone from bad to worse over time.

“If a new public transport plan is introduced, I will of course support it. Knowing that traffic will be worse during construction period, I will still support it because it will only be good for us in the future,” he added.

SRS Consortium which is the Project Delivery Partner of the PTMP, together with the state government, gave a media briefing last Friday on the proposed corridors of the LRT and the PIL highway, and the means for its funding. Comments and feedback from Penangites on the project, especially from the low-income areas, have been supportive.

SRS Consortium project director Szeto Wai Loong said that once the relevant approvals were in place, construction of the proposed 20km Bayan Lepas LRT would be able to kick off in 2018, while work on the 20km PIL highway would begin in 2017.

Both projects will take six years to complete. The Bayan Lepas LRT will form the future rail backbone of Penang’s public transport system.

It will provide an alternative form of public transport for Penangites at key commercial and employment hubs, including George Town, the Sungai Nibong bus terminal, Uni­ver­siti Sains Malaysia, Penang International Airport and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

It will also serve the transport needs of high-density low-income areas such as Jelutong, Gelugor and Bayan Lepas.

“The proposed LRT will cater for a targeted ridership of 500,000 out of the 750,000 population of Penang island,” said Szeto.

“It will cater for peak-hour transport demand and help reduce congestion on the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway,” he said, adding that the LRT service would be complemented by a comprehensive feeder bus system at each station to significantly improve connectivity.

With the proposed plan, Penangites will be able to enjoy the convenience of the PIL highway which can reduce journey time from the Second Penang Bridge to Gurney Drive to only 15 minutes, instead of the usual 45 minutes via the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway.

“I hope the authorities will look into our plight of having to face daily congestion which sometimes takes hours from end-to-end. And we have been enduring this situation for years,” said Azhar.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Construction work on the Penang light railway transit (LRT) project, which is part of the first phase of the island’s Transport Master Plan (TMP), will start in 2018.

According to SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd, the Gamuda Bhd-led project delivery partner (PDP) for the TMP, it will be finalising the cost and alignment of the entire project by year end.

“We expect to start the construction of the LRT in 2018. It will take six years to complete,” SRS Consortium project director Szeto Wai Loong told The Edge Financial Daily in an interview yesterday.

The proposed Bayan Lepas LRT alignment begins from Komtar and ends at the Penang International Airport, running along the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (LCE).

It was previously reported by local media that the construction of the LRT project is scheduled to take off in the first half of 2017.

Szeto said the LRT project, which has a total alignment length of approximately 20 km, is one of the first components to be implemented under the TMP. The other component is the Pan Island Link Highway, which is expected to start construction in 2017.

He pointed out that the LRT project and Pan Island Link Highway were determined as the first components in the delivery sequence of the TMP as they fetch economic internal rates of return of 12.2% and 14% respectively, which are the highest among other components.

He added that the construction of the LRT project is expected to have minimal environment and social impact as the alignment runs past the LCE and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, which have a wide reserve.

“We are not acquiring a lot of people’s land compared to other [similar] developments,” he added.

Meanwhile, on the plan to reclaim two islands in the south of Penang Island, Szeto said the detailed environmental impact assessment report will be available to the public for review by mid-2016.

The reclaimed land will be fully owned by the Penang government and the land will be auctioned to finance the RM27 billion TMP.

“The public will have a month’s time to comment. It will take us another month to address all the issues that are relevant,” he explained, adding that the consultant had already started various studies that will take six to seven months.

He said various studies will be carried out to determine the marine and environmental impact, sea current and sedimentation impact, and socio-economic impact on the fishermen community in Teluk Kumbar, Permatang Damar Laut and Gertak Sanggul areas.

The report will be prepared by environmental consultant Dr Nik & Associates Sdn Bhd. Szeto said one of the concerns of the reclamation work would be the livelihood of the fishermen in the area as they have to travel farther for fishing activities.

“We haven’t got complaints about environmental issues. So far, we only have political issues,” he said.

Certain parties have questioned the Penang state government for allowing too many reclamation activities on the island, which raised concerns about the impact on the environment and marine life.

Szeto reassured that the chosen site is the best site for reclamation as there is no seagrass in the area.

Previously, the reclamation was said to be carried out in Middle Bank, partly a seagrass bed — a natural marine ecosystem and breeding spot for marine life — located near Gazumbo Island next to the Penang Bridge.

However, environmentalists and civic groups opposed the proposed project on the grounds that it had the country’s second-largest seagrass bed.

The Edge Financial Daily reported on Monday that the estimated cost for reclaiming the two islands measuring about 1,300 acres (526ha) and 2,100 acres respectively to be about RM7 billion to RM8 billion.

The reclamation, identified as a land swap model to finance the TMP, is expected to take off in 2018 once federal and state approvals for the project components are attained.

The proposed TMP would feature a LRT from Komtar to Bayan Lepas, a monorail from Komtar to Air Itam and Tanjung Bungah, e-buses across the North Channel, bus rapid transits on the mainland, and a 20 km Pan Island Link Highway connecting Tanjung Bungah to the Penang International Airport and the LCE with tunnels cutting through the hills.

SRS Consortium, a joint venture in which Gamuda holds 60%, with Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd and Loh Phoy Yen Holdings Sdn Bhd holding 20% each, received its appointment letter as the PDP on Aug 14.

Source: TheEdgeProperty.com.my

PIL highway poses no environmental impact

Upon completion, the proposed Pan Island Link (PIL) highway will be able to share the heavy traffic load of the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway (LCE), while the proposed Bayan Lepas LRT will be the rail backbone of Penang’s future public transport system.

The projects, which are the first components under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), are targeted at addressing the critical traffic congestion on the island.

SRS Consortium project director Szeto Wai Loong said the LRT would provide alternative public transport for target ridership of half a million of the island’s current 750,000 residents.

He assured the public that the Bayan Lepas LRT would be built with minimal environment and social impact to the island.

The proposed LRT alignment begins from Komtar and will end at the Penang International Airport, running along LCE and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah. The total alignment length is approximately 20km.

Szeto pointed out that both the LCE and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah have wide road reserves which could accommodate the LRT line.

“The LRT will run along existing road corridors and there will be minimal land acquisition,” he said yesterday.

Similarly, the PIL which starts at the Second Penang Bridge and ends at Gurney Drive will be mainly elevated structures and tunnels. It will not pose impact to the environment.

“It will not have deep cuts and embankments that require significant earth works,” he said.

Szeto said the LRT would serve low-income areas such as Gelugor, Bayan Lepas and Batu Maung as well as high-density locations such as Ghaut Street Flats and Sinar Bukit Dumbar Apartment, whose residents stand to benefit from efficient public transportation.

The LRT will also pass critical transport, commercial and employment nodes on the island, which includes George Town, Sungai Nibong Bus Terminal, Penang International Airport, Universiti Sains Malaysia and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

“The proposed LRT will be able to cater to high-volume passengers during morning and evening peak hours on the island, and help reduce congestion along LCE,” he said.

The LRT’s connectivity will be complemented by a comprehensive feeder bus network to further its reach within the communities.

Szeto said the PIL, which would be approximately 20km long, would also connect to Teluk Kumbar and Balik Pulau.

There will be six interchanges at key locations: LCE, Jalan Tun Dr Awang, Relau, Paya Terubong, Gottlieb Road and the Gurney Expressway.

He said once the PIL is completed, the estimated journey time between the Second Penang Bridge and George Town would only take 15 minutes compared to the current 45 minutes.

The proposed funding for the PTMP will be carried out from the reclamation of sea land – forming two new islands in the southern coast of Penang Island.

The two man-made islands located near Permatang Damar Laut will be known as the South Reclamation Scheme (SRS), spanning 930ha and 485ha.

A third plot of 323ha reclaimed land next to the two islands has also been identified if there is a future demand for land activities.

Szeto said concerns that the reclamation would impact negatively on the environment was misplaced.

He pointed out that the southern coast is no longer a pristine, unexplored zone as the enlarging population of Penang Island had already started to move south.

Bayan Lepas and Teluk Kumbar, he said, have been seeing signs of booming development with many residential projects.

“As seen in the last five years, the expanding peripheral of George Town from rapid urbanisation has led to a pick-up in development activities in the south coast, especially near the airport and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ),” he said.

He said the proposed reclaimed islands would provide land space for the expansion of the FIZ, employment opportunities and a comfortable living environment served by an efficient transport system.

“It will be home to the expanded electrical and electronics cluster in the Bayan Lepas FIZ where MNCs and SMEs form a strong supply chain cluster which has been developed in the last 40 years. Some of the SMEs are now global contract manufacturers,” he said.

While some 30,000 affordable homes would be built on the islands, Szeto said the reclaimed islands would boast a range of public amenities that could enhance the quality of life of residents.

Among the planned public facilities are a sports arena, museum, convention centre and a performing arts centre.

To promote a greener and healthier Penang, streets on the islands will have dedicated bicycle lanes and covered pedestrian walkways. Some 15% of the total reclaimed land space or 283ha will be reserved as green lungs comprising coastal parks, tree-lined boulevards and water features. The islands will have a 5km-long continuous stretch of sandy beach.

The state government will be the sole owner of the reclaimed islands, and development of parcels of land will be carefully phased out in a coordinated manner to regulate property prices.

“A strategy of controlled supply will be adopted so that all homes, commercial and industrial projects will be rolled out in sustainable manner according to the masterplan development blueprint agreed by the state government,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my