There will be a public forum where residents and concerned Penangites can raise important questions regarding the proposed Pan Island Link 1 (PIL 1) highway project, said Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow in a report by Free Malaysia Today.
The PIL Environment Impact Assessment Town Hall Session will be held next week, following instruction from the Department of Environment (DoE) to hold such public forum.
Specifically, the event will be held at Setia SPICE Convention Centre in Relau from 8pm to 10:30 pm next Thursday (20 Sept).
“In line with the administration’s principle of transparency and commitment to listen and to understand the rakyat, we wish to inform that we will hold a town hall to let the public share their concerns on the proposed project.”
“The Penang government hereby commits to respond to all issues raised and these responses shall be forwarded to the DoE,” said Chow on Thursday (13 Sept).
The Chief Minister said he plans to take part in the town hall meeting, and Environment Minister Yeo Bee Yin could also attend.
On the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), Chow revealed that they plan to hold another town hall meeting for it, with a tentative schedule on 30 Sept. Once the venue and other particulars are finalised they will inform the public.
Notably, the state government plans to build a RM6.3 billion undersea tunnel and three paired roads, as well as implement the RM46 billion PTMP, in a bid to tackle traffic congestion in Penang’s existing road networks. The ambitious projects include an LRT line, a network of highways and the reclamation of four islands on the southern coast.
The PIL 1 highway spanning 19.5km from Gurney Drive to Sultan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah Bridge is part of PTMP.
At present, the DoE is gathering the public’s comments and feedback on the proposed highway project, and it has posted Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) documents online at certain areas in Penang.
The deadline for the submission of comments and feedback on PIL 1 is 24 Sept.
In 2017, the Department of Environment approved the North Coast Paired Road that will pass through the hills of Teluk Bahang and Tanjung Bungah despite opposition from the area’s residents.
While the state government has not yet given the go signal to start building the road, contractors revealed that work is expected to begin in 2019.
Image sourced from The Edge Property
This article was edited by the editorial team of PropertyGuru. To contact them about this or other stories email editorialteam@propertyguru.com.my
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