GEORGE TOWN: Studies conducted by several government departments have shown that the proposed cable car for Penang Hill was not suitable to be implemented, according to a non-governmental organisation (NGO).
In an audio statement today, Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) advisor Yan Lee said authorities such as the Public Works Department (JKR) and the Forestry Department have conducted studies regarding Penang Hill’s infrastructure capability to include the proposed cable car.
He said the federal authorities have also studied the water catchment area there.
“Our source (an engineer from JKR) informed us that it is impractical (to install a cable car at Penang Hill). It is going to bring too many people and will surpass the carrying capacity of the hill, thus the whole infrastructure cannot cope with it,“ he said.
He said this in response to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s announcement yesterday that the federal government had cancelled the RM100 million allocation for the alternative cable car project at Penang Hill.
The allocation was announced in the 2020 Budget, tabled by then Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng in October last year.
Lee believed that the state government’s support for the cable car project would go hand-in-hand with the upcoming hotel projects at Penang Hill.
The hotel projects involve the takeover of the Convalescent Bungalow and the disused Crag Hotel by a six-star luxury hotel chain for conversion into a 250- to 300-room eco-friendly resort.
“(These projects) would absolutely kill Penang Hill, and we will not know Penang Hill as we know (it) now, but thank goodness that we have JKR and the Forestry (Department) to back up and recommend that the cable car project be cancelled,“ he added. - Bernama
