BUTTERWORTH: Penangites continue to raise concerns that the proposed undersea tunnel project will have a negative impact on their lives,
During a dialogue with Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, environmental consultant Abdul Wahid Ghazali suggested a risk assessment study for the project, looking into possible effects caused by earthquakes and tremors in the neighbouring region.
“Although Penang is not located within the earthquake ring of fissures, we do get some indirect effects from Sumatran quakes measuring more than 6.0 on the Richter scale.
“Therefore, a detailed geological study should ideally be carried out for the proposed tunnel,” the former Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM) Environment Management and Planning Department lecturer said.
Abdul Wahid said whether the project would directly affect fishermen in Gurney Drive and Bagan Ajam could only be known once the tunnel’s exact alignment was identified through a feasibility study.
“At the moment, only the tunnel’s corridors have been identified, and not the entire alignment, so we do not know if would affect any fishing site.
“If both ends of the tunnel affect the mooring of fishing boats, then perhaps appropriate fish landing sites should be rebuilt nearby as replacements,” he said at Dewan Besar Sungai Dua here yesterday.
Local resident Abu Osman Abu Hassan asked if residents living along the coastline in Bagan Ajam would have to make way for the project, to which Lim replied that it would not affect any residential units.
Kepala Batas-born Khairil Irfan Othman, who now works in Kuala Lumpur, called on Lim to ensure property prices in his Penaga hometown would not skyrocket once the tunnel project came up.
“I am sad that my hometown Penaga is still quite backward. And, if the property prices shoot up, the low and mid-income earners here will suffer further,” he said.
Lim replied that the state might introduce an affordable housing scheme in north Seberang Prai, similar to the one in Batu Kawan, south Seberang Prai.
Hooi Peng Kwan, a former hotel chef, asked about the maintenance of the tunnel during and after the 30-year concession period, to which Lim said the concession holder would handle it throughout the concession period, after which, the state would take over.
Another resident, Sree, asked if the Pantai Bersih beach and recreation area in Bagan Ajam would be affected by the tunnel project.
Lim replied that the state would ensure the beach remained a public property and not ‘privatised’ to a third party.
Source: StarProperty.my
