I&T Penang Properties Blogs

The Malaysian Government has tabled its 9th Malaysia Development Plan 2006-2010 (9MP) mid term review in Parliament House recently. Despite the Federal Government increased the development allocation to RM230 billion, the development allocation of several infrastructure projects including Penang’s monorail and PORR, however, have been deferred.

www.intproperties.com researched on these two affected infrastructure projects following the latest decision by the Federal Government to defer it which are considered important projects to Penang economic development.

Background

The proposal and ideas on Penang’s planned infrastructure projects ie Monorail (LRT) system, PORR, Penang Bridge Expansion and Penang 2nd link have been floated since mid 1990’s, more than 13 years ago.

According to a report way back in year 1995, the Penang’s Light Rail Transit (LRT) system was scheduled for completion in year 2002. The proposed LRT system, costing RM650million at that time, was supposed to be implemented under “Built-Operate-Transfer” basis by Business Focus Sdn Bhd. It was also reported that a close-end fund under the name of Dana Mutiara was being set up to undertake infrastructure-related projects including Penang 2nd Link, PORR, monorail system etc. The idea of setting up a close end fund has since fizzled out and most of these planned infrastructure projects were shelved due to the onslaught of Asian financial crisis during 1997-1998. Read more at here and here.

The planned infrastucture projects were subsequently revived and incorporated in the 9th Malaysia Plan 2006-2010 in year 2006 and endorsed in the blueprint of NCER launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in August 2007.

Highlights of 9MP Mid Term Review

According to the Mid-Term Review of the 9MP, the Malaysian Government is allocating another RM30bil for development expenditure under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), increasing the ceiling to RM230bil and here are the highlights of 9MP mid-term review. Several infrastructure projects which are considered important to Penang ie.Penang Monorail, Highway Projects Are Not Under 9MP now despite the Federal Government has endorsed these projects under the initiatives of NCER launched less than 1 year ago.

Reasons and Reactions on deferment

The reason cited for the two Penang projects being deferred (RM2bil monorail and RM1.5bil Penang Outer Ring Road) was to relocate resources to cushion the impact of the increase in global oil prices and focus on people-centred projects. more at here and here. And here are the reactions from the Penang state administration. The Penang Chief Minister is urging the federal government to restore these 2 mega projects and explain the allocation cut to Penang State. The Penang NGOs, on the other hand, have dissenting views and are calling the authorities to establish a Penang transport masterplan. More views and comments relating to Penang’s planned infrastructure projects in Penang-Jelutong MP cum blogger Jeff Ooi’s blog.

Impacts on developments

The deferment of these mega projects would likely to have impacts on ongoing and new planned developments surrounding the PORR and monorail route. More info about mega projects at related blogs; NCER and the high impact projects on Penang and Penang Mega Projects.

For advisory on individual property matters in Penang, email to us at Izrin & Tan Properties Sdn. Bhd. or call us at +604 6588333 (Penang Office) or +603 92839782 (Kuala Lumpur Office) and we would be pleased to assist.

The Penang Island property sector looks set for major transformation following the launching of two mega development projects within a span of 3 months in the second half of 2007 ie Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) by Equine Capital and The Light Waterfront by IJM Properties.

PGCC, a high-impact and widely publicized RM25bil project was launched by the Prime Minister of Malaysia in September 2007 to complement the NCER initiatives whilst The Light, a RM6.5 waterfront city along Penang’s eastern coastline unveiled in November 2007.

The launching of the two mega projects has received wide publicity coverage by the mainstream media.The vernacular press, sinchew, has given in-depth coverage as well with multiple photo slots on its website and has described it as mega projects which complement each other, each has its own distinct feature with the former being located at the Penang foothill whilst the latter is sited along the waterfront overlooking Penang eastern coastline. It has also provide a comparison of salient facts of the two mega projects.

PGCC, designed by Architect Hani Rashid, will feature architectural themes that synthesise local symbolism and historic forms with contemporary-style designs. The PGCC’s website provides much of the information on its development concept and master plan complete with an animated photo gallery. The website also highlights on the project features of carbon-zero city, PGCC Central Park and Penang Metropolitan Park. The 40ha Metropolitan Park, which will link the Youth Park and Botanical Garden, will see more open spaces for the public. Two flyovers costing RM140 million connecting PGCC to PORR will be built to smoothen the traffic flow of the area. Click here to see to aerial view of the PGCC site and the traffic flow. Over the past few months, the developer has embarked on a series of road shows and exhibitions highlighting that PGCC will benefit Penangites and attract foreign investments and boosting Penang tourism. The development of PGCC is expected to create up to 30,000 jobs.

Unlike The Light Waterfront, the launching of PGCC has generated mixed reactions and split views from the public. A pro-development body, PERINTIS and several Youth associations have voiced their support for the development of PGCC whilst several concerned Penang NGOs and the residents from nearby Jesselton area have voiced their objections and concerns on the implications of this controversial project on issues ranging from environment impacts, traffic congestion, project density, approval procedures etc. The development of PGCC may be delayed and scale down.

Update : The application for PGCC project has been formally rejected by the Penang State Authority on 6/8/2008.

For advisory on individual property investments in Penang, email to us at Izrin &Tan Properties Sdn. Bhd. or call us at +604 6588333 (Penang Office) or +603 92839782 (Kuala Lumpur Office) and we would be pleased to assist.

Map showing the approximate location of PGCC and The Light in relation to the proposed Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) Alignment or Browse Google’s Map guide on Georgetown.

Location Plan of PGCC

Location Plan of The Light

The skyline of Penang Eastern Coastal area will see major changes when The Light is fully completed…

The NCER blueprint, prepared by master planner, Sime Darby, is expected to bring in RM177 billion investment into the Northern Corridor [Map Guide] covering 4 northern states of Peninsula Malaysia – Perlis, Kedah, Penang and Northern Perak to transform and expand the agricultural,manufacturing, tourism and logistics sectors until year 2025.

According to the NCER blueprint, five growth corridors will be created within the economic region ie. Island Corridor, Coastal Corridor, Central Corridor, Hinterland Corridor and Butterworth-Kulim-Baling-Pengkalan Hulu Grik Corridor. For more highlights on NCER, click here and here. More info are available at NCER’s website www.ncer.com.my.

The plan will position Penang into an integrated logistics hub for northern corridor. Amongst the high-impact projects earmarked for Penang are airport and port expansion, enhancement of public transportation system i) Rapid Penang Bus services , ii) high –speed ferry services iii) RM2Billion Penang Sentral – a central transport hub to be undertaken by MRCB and akin to Kuala Lumpur Sentral albeit at a smaller scale of about one fifth of its development size and iv) the Penang monorail project, micro-electronic center of excellence at USM and the RM18 Billion Penang City Centre to be promoted as MICE destination.

Update : more insights on NCER initiatives by SERI - Penang as an integrated logistics and transportation hub under northern corridor economic region.

For individual property advisory and investment in Northern Corridor of Malaysia, email to us or call us at +604 6588333 (Penang).

To what extend and how fast would all this initiatives and benefits cascading down to the ordinary people in the Northern Corridor ? Find out more on who are the beneficiaries of the NCER ? at Beneficiaries of the NCER and NCER big boost for Penang and which Property firms to get NCER benefits?.

Maps on Infrastructure road linkages;

Maps on Penang’s high impact projects under the NCER masterplan ;

An entourage of RTM crew has recently came to Penang to film a TV documentary on Batu Kawan Parliamentary area and its Member of Parliament MP Huan Cheng Guan. Amongst the places of focus are the site for the proposed Second Penang Bridge and Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan, Auto City in Juru, Sungai Sembilang Village, Mybatik-a batik production house in Bukit Tengah and a little-known island of Pulau Aman. The half an hour TV programme will be aired through channel RTM 1 on 27th May 2007 (Sunday), Malaysian time 22.00 pm.

Like the much-publicized Iskandar Development Region (IDR) in the southern Peninsular of Malaysia, Batu Kawan Parliamentary area[click here for Location Map], which is situated in the mainland state of Penang and covers part of the two districts of central and southern Seberang Perai (stretching from Perai to Sungai Bakap), has great potential to be the future booming area of the northern Peninsular Malaysia. The construction of the proposed RM2.8 Billion Second Penang Bridge project, a major infrastructure projects initiated by the Federal Government under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), is expected to generate tremendous economic spillover effects and accelerate the developments of the northern region.

The 2,680 hectare Batu Kawan land bank, formerly an oil palm estate, was acquired by Penang Development Corporation (PDC) in 1990’s and earmarked as Penang’s third satellite township after Bandar Baru Bayan Baru dan Seberang Jaya. The new township known as Bandar Cassia will take about 30 years to complete and has a projected population of 150,000. Crescentia Park, an 186 hectare township which forms part of the Bandar Cassia master plan, is currently being developed by Equine Group. There will be a 16-hectare park with man-made lakes within Crescentia Park. See related links at Equine riding high on Penang Projects and Equine Capital Unit launching houses in Crescentia Park. Besides this, the construction of the Penang International Equestrian Centre (PIEC) to relocate the Penang Turf Club to Batu Kawan is progressing well. More info at Work on equestrian centre in Batu Kawan picks up pace.

In addition, PDC has also launched its RM150 million project; Dedaun, a 127-acre bunglow village within Bandar Cassia offering 8 different country bungalow designs. Other housing developers have also capitalized on this and launched their schemes recently in the vicinity of Batu Kawan are Tambun Indah’s Juru Heights and Airmas Group’s Palm Garden.

Batu Kawan is also famous for its sea food industry. In recent years, many sea food restaurants have mushroomed in the vicinity. Located within Batu Kawan area and close to the proposed Second Penang Bridge is the little known small island of Pulau Aman. A new jetty known as Batu Musang Jetty at Batu Kawan has been built last year to enhance accessibility and further promote Pulau Aman as an eco-tourism destination similar to Pulau Jerejak. More interesting info on Pulau Aman.

Some snapshots on recent visit by RTM crew to Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan and Pulau Aman….

Mr C H Kwong, General Manager of Abad Naluri Sdn Bhd and the developer of Crescentia Park, briefing MP Huan dan RTM crew on Batu Kawan development plan.

Coincident meet at Pulau Aman between MP Huan and Datuk Zainal Rahim Seman, who was on his last inspection assignment of an infrastructure project in Pulau Aman prior to his appointment as the new Council President of Penang Island Municipal Council (MPPP).

View of Pulau Aman, with potential to be an eco-tourism destination.

With the launching of Visit Malaysia Year 2007, Penang hopes to attract 3 million tourist arrivals by end of this year. KOMTAR or Menara KOMTAR, which is the landmark of Penang and the famous icon of Georgetown, used to be a major tourist attraction in the 1980’s and 1990’s. However, KOMTAR has lost its shine in recent years due to growing competition from the newer modern shopping centers sprouting on Penang Island. Penang’s retail sector has since undergone 3 stages of changes from early 1980’s up to the new millennium. Read more at Penang’s changing retail face.

KOMTAR needs a major facelift and a more urgent coordinated effort to revitalise the complex’s attractiveness as well as to stay competitive as the premier shopping center of Penang for both locals and tourists.

Related links on KOMTAR ; RM10 million facelift for KOMTAR; Still ‘uncompleted’ after all these years and Sale of shoplots made many millions .

More at update links - Upgrading work on KOMTAR soon and Not too late for Komtar.

Penang is synonymous with KOMTAR & Ferry service… both “converging” landmarks are in need of a major facelift !

The construction works on the second Penang Bridge was officially launched by the Prime Minister Malaysia at a ground breaking ceremony in Batu Kawan on 12th November 2006. This event was an historic one and rekindled the remembrance of the first Penang Bridge, as 24 years ago, Penang witnessed the ground breaking of the construction on the first Penang Bridge in 1982 and its completion in 1985. The areas connecting the first Penang Bridge; Batu Uban/Sungai Dua on the island and Perai/ Bukit Tengah in the mainland have since been transformed into an urban and developed areas.

Batu Kawan in the mainland and Batu Maung on the Southern Island will be the development corridor when Second Penang Bridge ready in 2011. The construction of the second Penang Bridge is expected to fast track the developments of Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan.

More updates on Penang’s second link.

Following the announcement of the much-awaited 9th Malaysia Plan (9MP), a five-year development plan from 2006 up to 2010 on 31st March 2006, Penang would be allocated for funds amounting RM6.152 billion or 3% of RM200 Billion development fund to built a monorail system, a second bridge and Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR).

Click here Penang links for more web information on Penang and 9MP.