MNS: RM75bil project not viable
The Star 16 Jan 13;
GEORGE TOWN: A RM75bil mixed development project proposed in Balik Pulau is too expensive and not viable, says the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS).
MNS Penang branch adviser D. Kanda Kumar said it would be cheaper and more viable for a project of such scale to be developed on the mainland.
“It is expensive to build such a development on the sea. Why is there a need to spend so much money?
“The other concern is how to divert the traffic. The road system to Balik Pulau is poor.
“Another road will have to be built to contain the traffic and this will involve taxpayers’ money,” he said yesterday, while commenting on the project.
Kanda Kumar said he was present, along with representatives from several other non-governmental organisations, at a presentation of the project’s concept by its consultant late last year.
“However, there was no commitment from MNS due to a lack of details about the proposed project. We, however, highlighted our concerns,” he said.
An English daily reported on Monday that the proposed 2,833ha development comprises electrical and electronics, oil and gas industries, tank farming, government administration offices, schools, hotels, residential areas, parks – all to be built on stilts – and an artificial beach.
It quoted the proposal document titled “Proposed creation of offshore concrete structures for industrial development on the west coast of Penang island” submitted by Al Cube Sdn Bhd, the local vehicle for a Malaysia-Hong Kong joint venture.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, who had declared on Monday that the state government had not considered the project, said yesterday that the state would now not consider the matter at all even if it had approval or endorsement from non-governmental organisations.
Fishermen’s RM75bil worry
Hafiz Marzukhi and Christina China The Star 16 Jan 13;
BALIK PULAU: Fishermen in Kuala Sungai Pinang are still worried over a proposed RM75bil mixed development project which, if implemented, could affect their livelihoods.
Most of them were shocked over the plans for the 2,833ha project on stilts, involving factories for electrical, electronics, oil and gas and tank farming industries, schools, hotels, residential areas, parks and an artificial beach.
Although the state government had said the project would not be considered, locals are apprehensive because of the conflicting statements made by the authorities.
According to news reports, State Health, Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh had said the state was aware of the project.
However, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the project “did not exist”.
Former Kuala Sungai Pinang Area Fisherman Association unit leader Sazali Abdul Rahman, 55, said he was worried the mega project could cause fish species to dwindle and affect the livelihoods of 500 people who depended on fishing in the area.
“While such a mega project may attract foreign investors, what benefit will it bring to local villagers?”
“The authorities and the project consultants should have asked the views of local fishermen,” he said.
Phee said yesterday that he knew about the project proposal only because the Consumers Association of Penang (CAP) wrote to him about its concerns late last year.
“I had no access to any official document in my capacity as state exco member, so there is no contradiction with Lim's denial of the project's existence.”
According to a report in an English daily, project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid said the project's Hong Kong investors had instructed him to scrap the plan.
He said mass media attention towards the project had had a negative effect on the investors' reputation.
Dr Nik Zamri said he had been told to look at other locations in Thailand and Myanmar instead for the mega project.
Meanwhile, Penang Barisan Nasional secretary Datuk Seri Dr Hilmi Yahaya urged the state government to preserve the island's “last remaining green lung”.
Dr Hilmi, who is also Balik Pulau Umno chief and Teluk Bahang assemblyman, said he only found out about the proposed project through an online news portal on Tuesday.
“I knew nothing of the massive development plan. I was surprised when I read about it because Balik Pulau cannot sustain such a huge project.
“When Barisan was in power, it was a policy to keep Balik Pulau as a green lung. Hopefully, this will continue,” the former deputy chief minister said.
Pulau Betong assemblyman Muhammad Farid Saad said the project was not viable as it might have adverse effects on the environment.
CM: RM75b project does not exist
Looi Sue-Chern New Straits Times 15 Jan 13;
COUNTER-CLAIMS: Confusion over project in Balik Pulau
GEORGE TOWN: A PROPOSED RM75 billion mixed-development project in Balik Pulau, which was revealed in an English's daily's report, "simply does not exist", Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said yesterday.
Lim said he was "surprised" at the scale of the project.
"It was not even considered or evaluated by the state government and no approval had been given. The state would only consider it if we get Federal Government approval," he said.
Lim's statement was in contrast to that of Penang Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh, who was quoted in the daily as saying that the state was aware of the project.
Lim said the state had no issues about the project's consultant approaching environmental non-governmental organisations to get their endorsement.
However, he said the state would still reserve the right to make its own decision on the project, even if the development had approval from the Federal Government or the endorsement of NGOs.
Phee could not be reached yesterday for comments.
When contacted, project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid responded with a laugh when asked to comment about Lim saying that the project was non-existent.
"The project is still in the proposal stage but the proposal was presented to the state government, and we met with Lim, his deputy Datuk Mansor Othman and state officials last year," he said.
"Before the daily published the news about this project yesterday, only related federal and state government departments, like the state Economic Planning Unit and Environmental Department in Putrajaya, and some NGOs were in the know."
"I have no idea who leaked the information to the reporter," he said, adding that even the local elected representatives in Balik Pulau had not been approached by the company about the project.
The Malay Mail yesterday reported that the Penang government was presented with a 22-page proposal in October by Malaysian-Hong Kong joint venture company Al Cube Sdn Bhd for an offshore concrete industrial development on the west coast of the island, just 5.5km from the shore near Kuala Sungai Pinang in Balik Pulau.
The project, which reportedly has Hong Kong investors backing it, covers 2,833ha and will cost an estimated RM75 billion.
Were they keeping it under wraps?
Marina Emmannuel New Straits Times 16 Jan 13;
THE mind boggles how a proposed mixed development mega-project tagged at RM75 billion in Balik Pulau has remained a mystery to the public and then gets scrapped soon as details are leaked out.
On Monday, the Malay Mail revealed the "Proposed Creation of Offshore Concrete Structures For Industrial Development on the West Coast of Penang Island" was detailed in a 22-page document bearing the state government logo.
The front page of the English tabloid screamed "Penang's Mystery Mega Project" and a whole page inside the paper details how its developers, Al Cube Sdn Bhd, a local vehicle set up by a Malaysia-Hong Kong joint venture company, intends to site the project about 5.5km from the shore near Kuala Sungai Pinang.
Ambitious plans such as siting industries, hotels and homes on three inter-connected decks were highlighted for the proposed project which was meant to be built on steel stilts.
State Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh even went on record as saying that the state authorities were aware of the project and "are reviewing it based on complaints".
"It is important that stakeholders are not affected by it," Phee was reported to have said.
What reporters following up on the story were unable to reconcile with, was the fact that Chief Minister Lim Guan the following day chose to distance himself from the issue by stating that the project "simply does not exist".
He went on to question why "certain parties" were attempting to "smear" the state government's name. Compounding matters was project consultant Dr Nik Zamri Majid, who told the New Straits Times that a team of experts led by a Universiti Sains Malaysia academician would begin conducting an environmental impact assessment as early as next week.
He singled out representatives from the state government and also the Federal authorities, who were aware of the proposed project, but conceded that the company had yet to approach the elected representatives in Balik Pulau (Teluk Bahang, Pulau Betong and Bayan Lepas state consituencies fall under the parliamentary seat of Balik Pulau).
Balik Pulau is home to 50,000 people, of whom, 39,765 are voters.
To keep something as major as a big-ticket project -- which is bound to affect the lives of many in the area -- under wraps, smacks of arrogance and disregarding public interest or transparency.
DAP insiders, who are usually clued-in to major projects planned for Penang, have claimed ignorance of the issue and even stated that they were not even sure if the project had been discussed during any state executive assembly meeting.
