GEORGE TOWN – Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow hopes the Madani government will reward the people for their support for Pakatan Harapan in the last state election with a commitment to roll out all state projects under the 12th Malaysia Plan (12MP).
Chow hopes that the state projects under the 12th development master plan will also be included in the tabling of next month’s national budget.
Among the projects listed are mostly infrastructure upgrades to alleviate the worsening traffic congestion with the revived light rail transit (LRT) and new bypass highways.
“In the 12th plan, all the projects have been listed (for Penang). We hope all those projects can be implemented. We have no special requests or requirements,” he said after opening the American chipmaker GlobalFoundries’ new Malaysia office in Bayan Baru here.
Penang has 75 new projects under the plan involving allocations of RM54.14 million.
When attending the Penang Master Buildings Association 46th anniversary here last night, Chow also spoke on the need to fast-track Penang’s Silicon Island reclamation project.
Under the south island reclamation scheme (SRS) initiative, the project off Batu Maung here has begun in earnest after the necessary approvals were received by the delivery partner – SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd.
Chow said that the project was a catalyst towards stimulating the economy while also generating the much-needed landbank for the state’s industrialisation push.
One of the projects slated to begin under Silicon Island is the 283-ha Green Tech Park.
Chow expects the park to be ready in three years.
It will house mostly electronics manufacturers as part of the 930-ha Silicon Island which has been under reclamation work since last Friday at a cost of RM8.5 billion.
The entire island is expected to be ready in eight years.
Chow also supported association president Goh Teng Whoo’s call for a consortium of local contractors to be set up so they could bid for the new projects underway from the LRT to the three bypass highways and the proposed undersea tunnel – linking Gurney Drive on the island with Bagan Ajam in Butterworth. – The Vibes, September 27, 2023
