17 November 2011 | last updated at 01:34am

'Land swap deal will only benefit developers'

GEORGE TOWN The proposed land swap deal where developers will be given the right to reclaim prime land near or off Gurney Drive in exchange for RM8 billion worth of infrastructure projects on the island will only benefit developers and not the state.

Lim Chien Aun

1 / 1

    Registered valuer Lim Chien Aun said the proposed business venture was also seen to be only benefiting a select group of people in the high-income bracket as logically any developer would choose to "make money" out of such prime land by selling their projects to the rich.

    He also warned that the value of the existing properties along Gurney Drive would depreciate when new projects come out in future, especially those that obstruct the existing seafront views.

    "It is difficult to say what the prices of land will be then as it will need at least a five-year grace period to develop any piece of reclaimed land.

    "But whatever it is, the developers will be the ones benefiting from this land swap deal.   The state and the people will only be getting three roads and a tunnel linking Gurney Drive to Butterworth," he said when contacted yesterday.

    Lim, who has over 30 years of experience in valuation work and related work both locally and abroad, said the prices of land along Gurney Drive was currently tagged at an average RM600 per sq ft for a mixed development.

    He added that land swap was something important for the state government to ponder about before it decides to go ahead with the deal.

    He said a multi-million ringgit study conducted by the Public Works Department during the Barisan Nasional's-administration had concluded that a tunnel project was not feasible for Penang.

    Meanwhile, the state government would proceed with calling for Request for Proposals (RFP) for the proposed construction of the infrastructure projects despite reservations voiced by concerned groups and residents here about the projects.

    State Public Utilities and Transportation Committee chairman Lim Hock Seng said the state administration would proceed with selecting qualified contractors before calling for the RFP.

    "We are set to carry on with these projects and the necessary process will follow.

    "After all, these projects will take years to complete ... more importantly, the state government need not come out with a single sen to construct the roads and sea-tunnel," he said when asked to comment on reservations voiced by several groups, urging the state government to rethink its decision to build the roads in a land-swap deal which would see developers getting prime areas to reclaim.

    Pressed if the state government would take public views into consideration, Hock Seng who replied through the short messaging system, said:     "All views will be considered."

    In an immediate response, the Consumers Association of Penang    warned Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's administration against entering into yet another "hush hush" deal with developers as it pursues its plan to give away prime land in Gurney Drive in exchange for infrastructure projects.

    Its president S. M. Mohamed Idris said Penangites would not tolerate it if the state government tried to bulldoze through the infrastructure projects like it did with the RM300 million subterranean Penang International Convention and Exhibition Centre (sPICE) project recently.

    Idris said sPICE should be an eye opener for all as it had been revealed that the project and budget was approved without going through the due process of transparency.

    Idris also urged the state government to engage with concerned groups before signing any agreement to avoid any problems in the future.

    On Monday, Guan Eng announced in Kuala Lumpur that the state government would pay developers with prime land around the Gurney Drive tourist belt to construct three major roads and a tunnel project to reduce traffic congestion on the island.

    However, he was quoted in a news portal yesterday as saying that he did not say that the reclamation would involve prime land around Gurney Drive but near Gurney Drive.

To check on the current Penang Government.

Thursday 17 November 2011