Permits come first, developers and land owners warned

BALIK PULAU: Penang Local Government Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow has warned land owners and developers not to begin work without the proper permits.

He said the state government will neither tolerate nor compromise with those who did not comply with existing rules and regulations.

“I urge entrepreneurs to do things with approval, it can be done,” he said when visiting the Boulder Valley Glamping (glamour camping) Resort at Teluk
Bahang near here today.

Chow commended the owner, Amazing Discovery Sdn Bhd, for ensuring all approvals were obtained from the relevant authorities before starting work.

“It was a long and tedious process, they had to do many presentations to convince the departments,” he said.

Amazing Discovery executive director Lee Woon Poo said the it took more than a year to obtain the necessary approvals and expected work to be done by
end 2016.

She said one of the requirements was that the site had to be fitted with a no-discharge sewerage system.

She said the resort footprint was only 0.4ha of the 9.7ha site with developments kept to a minimum and only to install basic facilities like running water and
electricity.

“We have also planted 30,000 shrubs and trees under the guidance of experts,” she added.

The executive chairman Heah Gek Huah meanwhile noted the cost of the project increased due to compliance requirements.

“The cost is now RM20 million which is more than the original RM7 million estimate,” he said.