GEORGE TOWN: Unused government land in Batu Kawan can be an alternative to the proposed Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project to finance costs of project implementation under the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.
However, he said if these lands had been decided for industrial and development purposes, then they could not be used as alternatives, as the PSR project is expected to take 15 to 20 years to complete.
“If approved, the (PSR) project will take 15 to 20 years to complete. The earliest to be completed will probably be island A as this is needed to finance infrastructure projects. As such, it will probably take eight to ten years before the first plot of land can be used for the specific purpose,“ he said during the question-and -answer session at the State Legislative Assembly sitting here today.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Goh Choon Aik (PH-Bukit Tambun) who wanted to know if land in Batu Kawan could used as an alternative to the PSR project to finance the PTMP.
The PTMP, a state-initiated project estimated to cost an estimated RM46 billion, will feature an undersea tunnel linking the island to the mainland, highways, LRT and monorail and an extensive bus connectivity on both the island and mainland.
The PSR project had been been planned by the state government to cover the costs of the PTMP.
Chow, who is also Padang Kota assemblyman, said although the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) still held 1,173.6 hectares of land in Batu Kawan, he could not make announcements on land usage right now as this would disrupt negotiations with industrial investors.
He said the process to acquire 251.7 hectares of land in the east of Batu Kawan had been initiated for industrial use.
Earlier, in reply to Goh on PDC’s plans for the remaining land, Chow said the industries planned at the Batu Kawan Industry Park (BKIP) and South Penang Science Park were more focused on manufacturing of electrical and electronics (E&E) parts, light emitting diodes (LEDs), medical devices and other related activities.
He said as at March this year, the industrial sector is expected to contribute RM10 billion in investments which would be generated by multinational corporations (MNC) and local companies in BKIP.
“For the business sector, the total investment recorded based on agreements signed totalled RM17.8 billion. In the housing sector, PDC has implemented the Suria 1 affordable housing project where the gross development cost is RM135 million.
“The next phase (Suria 2) is expected to begin at the end of 2019 where the gross development cost is RM127 million,“ he said. — Bernama
