Penang Heritage Trust president Lim Gaik Siang said the worst affected would likely be the precision manufacturing factories at the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (FIZ).
The 19.5km Pan Island Link 1(PIL 1) highway will snake through the Sungai Keluang area, which is located in the centre of the dense FIZ.
Lim, who is also a Penang Forum member, said some factories in Bayan Lepas had in the past relocated to the Kulim industrial area in search of more calm, due to vibrations from a busier Penang International Airport located nearby.
“Essentially, these factories require absolute stability as they are manufacturing precision products, such as electronic circuits and processors at wafer fabrication factories.
“I foresee in the future, more factories will be forced to leave in search of other places as a result of the vibrations from the highway’s construction.
“After the highway is built, the vibration in excess from passing cars and heavy vehicles would also cause vibration, which is not conducive for precision factories,” she said in a talk to residents of Sungai Ara here today,
On a different note, Lim said the elevated roads proposed to be built in Penang as part of the government’s Transport Master Plan (PTMP) was staggering – at a total of 72.4km.
She said the figure was garnered from the environmental study of the PIL 1 on display.
“Can you imagine these elevated roads dwarfing our heritage houses. Take a look at a flyover built in Klang. They have heritage shophouses similar to ours. It looks horrible.
“And to have 72.4km of elevated roads, that is slightly more than the 70km of roads on the coasts of the island,” she said.
Lim said Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow’s claim that NGOs were scaring Penangites over the project was unfounded, saying the groups were merely educating the public with facts.
She said the oft-used term that “engineering can mitigate anything” was not a reasonable excuse when fragile environments were about to be destroyed for a highway.
“A doctor would say smoking is bad for you, but a cigarette company salesman would say ‘Hey look, I have been smoking for years and I am healthy’.
“Does not this sound like the same thing the Penang government is telling us today over this highway project?” she asked.