BUTTERWORTH – The proposed railway link between Kulim International Airport and Penang Sentral in Butterworth has been called off.
Seberang Prai Mayor Datuk Rozali Mohamud in a statement said the link was mooted only as a suggestion, and that the Seberang Prai City Council has no jurisdiction to suggest an infrastructure project in Kulim, which is under the Kedah government.
Planning consultant Norliza Hashim presented the proposal yesterday, to showcase the propositions under a proposed local plan for Seberang Prai to the public.
The Penang mainland has three districts that neighbour Kedah and Perak.
Non-governmental organisations here have lauded the city council for sharing the plan, as even the Penang Island City Council is allegedly wavering on its proposed local plan.
Rozali said the presentation is merely a collection of infrastructure ideas for the next 10 years, and is open for public viewing until July 9.
The draft represents land use in Seberang Prai until 2030, and the proposed infrastructure projects are considered to consolidate Penang Sentral’s role as the transportation hub for the northern region.
“Anything to do with the Kulim link is beyond our jurisdiction. I will order any reference to it to be excluded from the local plan,” said Rozali.
A senior member of the Penang government is upset that such a link was mooted when the viability of an airport in Kulim remains to be seen.
The source, who prefers to not be named, said the city council’s move to support the airport idea in Kulim may also be detrimental to the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas, which, for decades, has been the leading aviation link in the northern region.
The source said the presentation of new infrastructures is bizarre to say the least, as nobody in the state was consulted.
Besides the link, four bus lines were mooted, new townships suggested, and a possible light rail transit link from Jelutong to Penang Sentral along the lines of the first Penang Bridge proposed. – The Vibes, July 3, 2021
