The possibility of trams plying the streets here again is nearing reality as a consortium has won the bid to carry out the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan.

Trams, which were a feature in pre-Independence Penang, are among proposals under the PTMP, which includes light rail transit (LRT) lines and a 20km pan-island expressway linking Bayan Lepas and Tanjung Bungah.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng announced yesterday that SRS Consortium, a company formed by public-listed Gamuda Bhd and two local property firms, had been appointed as the project delivery partner (PDP) for PTMP, which is aimed at mitigating traffic congestion in Penang. The two Penang-based firms are Loh Phoy Yen Holdings Sdn Bhd and Ideal Property Development Sdn Bhd.

His announcement confirmed a StarBiz report yesterday, which quoted sources as saying that Gamuda had been appointed as the PDP and that it had formed a company with two local firms to implement the PTMP project.

Lim said the critical components were the LRT, trams and roads.

“The LRT is not just on the island but on the mainland as well. It must be carried out outside the heritage zone. Within the heritage zone, we have to go back to the tram service. Reviving this system will make Penang unique and romantic,” he told a press conference at his office in Komtar before handing the letter of award to SRS Consortium chief executive officer Datuk Lin Yun Ling.

Lim said the state executive council appointed SRS Consortium as the PDP on Wednesday based on its extensive expertise on mass rail transit and related public transport infrastructure as well as large-scale township development.

He said Gamuda held a 60% stake in SRS and the two locals firms, 20% each.

He said the consortium would be working closely with the state government in the next six months to ascertain the detailed execution masterplan, engineering designs, gather public feedback and obtain all state and federal approvals for each PTMP component.

Besides the LRT, tram and pan-island expressway, it had been reported that the other components were a catamaran system and a RM100mil highway interchange upgrading project.

“Hopefully, we will also be getting cable cars and water taxis,” Lim said.

He said once the approvals and planning for the various PTMP work packages were in place, the consortium would call for open tenders and invite tender submissions.

On which component of the PTMP would begin first, Lim said it would depend on which licence or permit could be secured.

He said the first PTMP project was expected to be rolled out by 2017 and all its components completed by 2030.

Lim said the consortium would employ strict safety and environment protection standards and measures to minimise the PTMP’s environmental and social impact.

“The state government emphasises that all costs and expenses incurred will be fully borne by the PDP in the event that no approvals for each PTMP component is obtained from the Federal Government,” he added.

On funding from the state government, he said the issue would only be addressed once the consortium secured all licencing approvals from the Federal Government.

“We will be working on a financial model based on a land swap. But it is still too premature to talk about this,” Lim added.

In the StarBiz report quoting sources yesterday, it was stated that the old Prangin market, popularly known as Sia Boey (Town’s End), had been designated by the state government as the site for the central LRT station.

From Sia Boey, the initial plan is to have a 17.5km LRT line running from inner George Town to Bayan Lepas. There will be two additional lines, running from Sia Boey to Tanjung Tokong via Kelawei Road, and to Paya Terubong via Datuk Keramat and Air Itam.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Gamuda Bhd has been appointed as the Project Delivery Partner (PDP) to oversee and realise certain key components in the RM27bil Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

Sources told StarBiz that the group has recently received the letter of award from the state government following a state executive councillor meeting, which endorsed the appointment.

On Aug 12, State Local Government, Traffic Management, and Flood Mitigation Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow announced that a PDP had been appointed and the company was given two weeks to accept or decline the appointment.

It is learnt that Gamuda has formed a company with two local firms to implement the PTMP project.

The company will undertake the RM5.3bil LRT project and a RM4.5bil 20km pan-island linked expressway linking Bayan Lepas and Tanjung Bungah, which are among the key components of the PTMP first phase.

The other schemes in the first phase that Gamuda will implement include a RM100mil tram and catamaran system, and a RM100mil highway interchange upgrading project. Although Gamuda has received the award letter, the company still has to obtain a LRT license from the federal government to implement the project in Penang.

This LRT permit will take about nine months to one year to obtain.

“Gamuda is now in the process of appointing local contractors to undertake soil and alignment studies for the LRT project,” the sources said.

According to sources, the old Prangin market, popularly known as Sia Boey (Town’s End), has been designated by the state government as the site for the central LRT station.

From Sia Boey, the initial plan is to have a 17.5km LRT line running from inner George Town to Bayan Lepas.

There will be two additional lines, running from Sia Boey to Tanjung Tokong via Kelawei Road, and to Paya Terubong via Datuk Keramat and Air Itam.

In an interview last year, Chow said the LRT line – which will be supported by a revamped stage bus system and trams – would be a priority, with completion targeted for five to six years.

In an interview a year ago, Chow said the PDP would also have to oversee the other infrastructure (RM16bil) and public transport (RM9bil) projects in the PTMP.

The institutional costs is estimated to be RM905mil, and Penang would have to foot about RM10bil of the total RM27bil cost, Chow said.

“The RM10bil allocation from the state does not include the RM6.3bil for the undersea tunnel and three expressway projects,” he said.

The 6.5km road tunnel is planned to run from Gurney Drive to Bagan Ajam in Butterworth.

The expressways include a 4.2km bypass from Persiaran Gurney to Persiaran Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu, a 4.6km expressway and by-pass from Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway to Bandar Baru Air Itam and a four-lane 12km road linking Tanjung Bungah with Teluk Bahang.

Chow said some of the projects would fall under the jurisdiction of the federal government.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Driving time from Air Itam to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway is expected to be slashed by half by 2018 with a new 5.7km bypass.

About 70% of the dual carriageway will be elevated and the link provides for 70km/h speed limit.

It will begin in Jalan Kampung Pisang, between Air Itam and Bandar Baru Air Itam, and connect with the expressway in Gelugor.

Construction should begin in the first quarter next year, said Consortium Zenith BUCG chairman Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli.

Zarul said this road would have three interchanges allowing motorists to get on and off from Jalan Thean Teik, Jalan Yeap Chor Ee and Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah.

This road is one of three that the consortium is building before it completes the undersea tunnel between the island and north Butterworth by 2025.

“We are building the Air Itam bypass first because the current traffic flow shows an urgent need for the road,” Zarul said.

The consortium had initially planned to start with the paired road from Teluk Bahang to Tanjung Bungah.

“We will start on the Teluk Bahang road after we are roughly halfway through building the Air Itam bypass.

“The third road, from Gurney Drive near Pangkor Road to the expressway, will be the final one before we start with the undersea tunnel,” Zarul said after signing a memorandum of understanding with Ewein Zenith Sdn Bhd managing director Datuk S. K. Ewe yesterday.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng witnessed the signing.

Ewein Zenith will develop the 50-acre Wellness City of Dreams between Bandar Tanjung Pinang and Gurney Drive.

It will contain a wellness mall, business and specialists centre, resort and hotel and provideservices such as anti-aging, aesthetics and comprehensive regenerative treatments.

The land was awarded by the state government and Ewein Zenith is developing it to finance the three roads costing RM2.8bil and the tunnel.

Ewe described the project as “killing three birds with one stone”.

“We will have a wellness resort to enhance medical tourism, three efficient roads to ease island traffic and a tunnel to north Butterworth to bring new development there,” he said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Jagdeep: It’s okay if they have incomes that exceed our limits but they must be purchasing their first homes

The state government is thinking of allowing developers to sell a certain percentage of affordable units priced between RM200,000 and RM400,000 to buyers who do not meet the financial requirements.

Penang Housing, Town, & Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said these buyers were not eligible to be on their list but they had to be first-time buyers.

“It is okay if they have incomes that exceed our limits but they must be purchasing their first homes.

“We may allow the developers to sell about 30% of the affordable units to buyers not on our list,” he said at a press conference on the Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (Maspex) 2015 which will be held from today to Sunday at Queensbay Mall.

According to the present guidelines for buying an affordable home in Penang, the applicant needs to be a voter and worker in Penang.

For affordable property on the island, the net salary of a buyer must not exceed RM6,000 for a RM200,000 unit, RM8,000 for for a RM300,000 unit and RM10,000 for a RM400,000 unit.

In Seberang Prai, the net income must not exceed RM6,000 for a RM150,000 unit, RM8,000 for a RM200,000 unit and RM10,000 for a RM250,000 unit.

* List of affordable housing in Penang *

“We are also considering a 10-year waiting period before allowing buyers outside the list to sell their affordable homes.

“Another condition we want to impose is to have the developer selling to buyers outside the list to surrender an affordable unit to us for every 10 units they build,” he said.

Jagdeep said the state government was also exploring the idea of introducing a new range of affordable property priced between RM120,000 and RM150,000 for those earning a net income between RM3,500 and RM6,000 per month.

“This is because the rejection rate for the current affordable units is still high.

“A total of 3,948 eligible applicants have applied for housing loans so far this year but about 30% were rejected,” he said.

Meanwhile, Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents (Penang Branch) chairman Mark Saw said that there would be more than 3,500 secondary homes priced between RM350,000 and RM2mil on display at the Maspex exhibition.

“Penang’s property market saw a slight drop in the last quarter and the market has been moving downwards since..

“There are still some good buys in the secondary market where prices are gene- rally lower by 15% to 20% compared to the primary market,” Saw said.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The Penang government will consider introducing additional affordable housing categories into the property market.

State housing committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said these units will be priced at between RM120,000 and RM150,000 because purchasers were finding it difficult to secure loans for affordable housing units currently priced between RM200,000 and RM400,000.

* List of affordable housing in Penang *

He said the rejection rate for loans is currently about 30% and urged financial institutions to relax the conditions of home loans for first-time purchasers.

He said making it difficult to secure financing for homes affected not only people in Penang but the entire country.

“It is time for banks to perform some corporate social responsibility initiatives,” he told a press conference today.

Earlier, Jagdeep said the third edition of the Malaysian Secondary Property Exhibition (Maspex) will be held at Queensbay Mall beginning Thursday. It will showcase more than 3,500 properties on the secondary market, with prices ranging from RM350,000 to RM2 million.

Malaysian Institute of Estate Agents Penang branch chairman Mark Saw said there are good buys in the secondary market.

“Prices are generally lower by some 15% to 20% compared to the primary market,” he said.

Source: TheSunDaily.my