PENANG Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow today refuted allegations that the state has sold thousands of hectares of land for the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

The land is earmarked for industrial, public housing and recreational purposes, he said, adding that the state government remains the sole owner of the three islands.

The PSR project, which is proposing to reclaim three islands off the southern coast of Penang island, is to fund the ambitious multibillion-ringgit Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).

It has allocated 400ha for the development of the industrial sector, he said.

“The state government has also decided to allot 30% of public housing on the reclaimed islands, and 10% of the island will be turned into recreational areas and open to the entire community,” he said in a statement today.

Chow, who is in charge of land affairs and land development, said the state would also select the developers for PSR through open tender.

On the RM1 billion soft loan Penang sought from Putrajaya last year, Chow said the funds are to enable the state to kick start the first phase of PTMP.

“In the event the loan is obtained, both the LRT (light rail transit) and PIL1 (Pan Island Link 1) projects can be implemented concurrently.”

The three projects – PSR, LRT and PIL1 – make up phase one of the PTMP, which aims to address the state’s worsening traffic woes.

Chow also denied claims that the entire reclaimed area of Sri Tanjung Pinang 1 (STP2) was given to concessionaire Consortium Zenith Constructions Sdn Bhd, which is undertaking the undersea tunnel project – another major component of the PTMP.

The undersea tunnel will link Butterworth on the mainland and Persiaran Gurney on the island. STP2 is an ongoing reclamation project in front of Persiaran Gurney by developer Eastern and Oriental Bhd.

Penang is paying Zenith through land swaps for the tunnel project, as well as three other main road projects. – February 13, 2019.