GEORGE TOWN – Penang Port Sdn Bhd (PPSB) is targeting up to 1.8 million foot passengers once its three speedboat ferries begin operations next year.
PPSB chief executive officer Datuk V. Sasedharan said this will be an increase from the 1.3 million pedestrian passengers recorded last year.
“With these speedboat ferries, we aim for more users to use the service,” he told the media here today.
Sasedharan said PPSB is ready to begin the vessels’ operations on January 1.
He said the speedboats that will be used during the interim phase from January 1 to June 30, 2022 have obtained a security licence from the Marine Department.
“The boats are ready to receive passengers starting January 1. We know there are those who question the safety of these boats but they have acquired the safety licence from the Marine Department and (have been declared) safe for all passengers,” he said.
The three speedboat ferries will replace the double-decker ferries during the interim phase from January 1 to June 30, 2022.
On July 2022, PPSB is expected to launch three catamarans or water buses, and two vehicle transporters.
Two of the double decker ferries will be turned in a floating restaurant and a museum.
Earlier, the Penang Port Commission had announced that the existing ferry service will be terminated on January 1, and four-wheeled vehicles will no longer be able to use the service.
Sasedharan said the operating hours for the speedboat ferries will be from 6.30am to 11.30pm, with 40 round trips daily.
“The speedboat's journey of Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal to Pangkalan Sultan Abdul Halim, Butterworth only takes about seven minutes with a frequency of every 30 minutes for one-way travel subject to current conditions,” he said, adding the ferry services will be free for two weeks.
Meanwhile, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng said in a statement that the iconic ferries would have been preserved if the Pakatan Harapan federal government had not been deposed.
He said the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government had instead put paid to any hope of salvaging the ferries, which have plied the channel here for the past 61 years.
“Had the PH government not been replaced by the unelected PN one in March, the iconic ferry would still have continued. Finance Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Zafrul Tengku Abdul Aziz had confirmed in Parliament on December 17 that the ministry, under me, had stipulated that the ferry must be continued as a condition for the government’s RM30 million grant to Penang Port to run the service.”
The previous PH government was not opposed to adding on speedboat ferries to the route, provided the existing ferry service is maintained, he said.
“We acknowledge its cost and difficulty of finding suitable replacements and spare parts. That is why we insisted that the two or three ferries remaining be allowed to operate.
“In other words, the speedboat ferries will be operating in parallel with the existing ferry services, as is practised by many countries, such as Hong Kong and Canada; a coexistence of heritage and modernity.”
Lim also called on Penang folk to come out on Thursday to bid goodbye to the ferries at the Raja Uda ferry terminal near Weld Quay.
“Let us say our final goodbye on Thursday. Just as we will not forget our iconic ferries, Penangites will never forgive the culprits responsible for terminating the iconic ferries,” he said.
In another development, Pulau Tikus assemblyman Chris Lee Chun Kit called on the Penang Public Transport Users' Association (Petua) and Penang Forum to condemn the PN government, as the two groups that claim to defend Penang’s heritage have instead welcomed the decision to end the ferry service.
“They should answer to Penangites for their sudden change in stand and clarify if they are in favour of the PN government, despite claiming to be apolitical.” – The Vibes, December 28, 2020
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