GEORGE TOWN: If the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) takes off, it will benefit both industries and the large workforce in the thriving industrial zone in the south of the island, says the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM).
Penang FMM vice-chairman K K Hun said the state’s project would also benefit industries on mainland Penang, with planned light-rail transit (LRT) and other connecting infrastructure to help traffic flow.
He said Penang FMM, which has 340 members comprising mostly industry leaders, backed the plan as it would boost the state’s economy.
The RM46 billion PTMP is the state government’s mega transport project which will see the construction of highways and a rail network, together with the development of three artificial islands south of the island.
A proposed Bayan Lepas LRT line will stretch across roughly 30km with 27 stations running from Komtar to the future reclaimed islands in the south. It will also include stops in the free industrial zone in Bayan Lepas.
A monorail line on the mainland connecting Raja Uda in Butterworth to Permatang Tinggi will also be built. From Permatang Tinggi, a Bus Rapid Transit line will be built to Batu Kawan.
“A good transportation infrastructure would attract more investors to Penang and the PTMP is a step in the right direction.
“We in the FMM fully support this project and are happy our concerns were heard by the state authorities,” Hun told reporters at Dewan Sri Pinang, in Light Street here today.
Hun said he was aware that certain non-governmental organisations might have objected to the PTMP.
He said these groups should understand that the project benefitted a vast majority of Penangites.
“They must see the bigger picture.”
Meanwhile, developer interest group FIABCI Malaysia’s Penang branch chairman Khor Siang Gin also voiced support for the plan. He said the PTMP would change the way Penangites lived for the better, adding that it would make Penang more liveable and connected.
Earlier, Hun and Khor visited the Anggerik Hall here where the PTMP documents are on public display.
The public display began on Jan 16 and ends at 5pm tomorrow.
The PTMP will be carried out by SRS Consortium, a project delivery partner who will reclaim three islands south of Penang island to finance the PTMP.
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