Penang will soon have a baby! Last week, a public consultation revealed the phases 2 and 3 of the Seri Tanjung Pinang development project : a 307 hectares man-made island will be created in front of Penang’s Strait Quay. Two 400m-long bridges will connect the new island to Strait Quay and Gurney Drive.
The second phase will reclaim 102 hectares on the sea and should take around 30 months to complete and another 10 years to develop the residential and commercial projects for a gross development value of RM8 billions. 60% of the construction jobs will be done by Penang based contractors. The sand for the reclamation will come from the coast of Lumut and the dredged material from the flushing canal will be dumped in the sea 40km away from Penang. 12000 houses will be built under Phase 2, including 30 % of « affordable housing » (which will not really be affordable by Malaysian standard).
Seri Tanjung Pinang phase 2 & 3 (from radiantjustice)
The third and last phase will reclaim the remaining 205 hectares and will take four years to complete and 14 years to develop projects with for a gross development value of RM17 billions.
Many concerns were raising during the public consultation : fishermen will loose valuable fishing ground, the current siltation of Gurney Drive may worsen and there will be more siltation around the new island and this mega project will have a huge ecological impact.
Seri Tanjung Pinang phase 2 & 3 details (from radiantjustice)
I don’t really know what to think of that. I wonder if such a project is really necessary… Is Penang trying to become like Dubai with crazy land reclamation ideas ? This project will stimulate for sure the local economy but for what cost ? The ecological impact will be important and Penang is already becoming more and more expensive for local people, the landscape is already changing at a very fast pace and rich foreign investors (lots from Singapore and Hong Kong) keep buying properties pressuring the local housing market. I fear that Penang will become like Hong Kong soon: overcrowded, accommodation overpriced and local population push out from the city center to the main land…
Pictures: http://www.flickr.com/photos/26541172@N08/sets/72157635209942496/with/9579359529/
source:
– https://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2936991
– http://anilnetto.com/economy/development-issues/seri-tanjung-pinang-phase-2-gurney-drive-will-not-be-the-same-again/