Taking the case of Hong Kong, which had a major landslide in the 1970s which killed nearly a hundred, he said the island learnt from its mistakes and decided to move on to come up with solutions.
Chow said as a result, they have become resilient in matters of hill development and have formed a geotechnical department much envied by others in the world.
He said although the Bukit Kukus incident was regrettable, there is a lesson to be learnt by all and the government is doing all it can to prevent a repeat.
Chow said the state was committed to improving worksite safety and compliance and would commit to taking the Hong Kong path.
“If NGOs like those in Penang were in Hong Kong, asking for development to be stopped over a landslide, Hong Kong would not be as developed as it is today.
“I can imagine them saying ‘okay incidents happened, stop everything; state must stop all development projects’.
“The other option is to admit the faults and recognise the need to improve and move on.
“Now you see Hong Kong building on the steepest slopes without much fuss,” he said during his winding-up speech at the state assembly today.
Last month, nine workers died in a landslide at a road construction site on a hill slope in Bukit Kukus.
The official cause of the incident is yet to be known pending a state and police investigation. Experts claim proper hill-cutting procedures were not adhered to.
‘NGOs plucking figures from sky
Chow also addressed another thorny topic involving Penang’s projected population in the next 10 to 20 years in the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP).
The Penang Forum has claimed the estimates were too high and unrealistic to justify an expensive transport system, such as the Light Rail Transit (LRT).
An expert had reportedly said the population density for the reclaimed islands, at 21,636 people per square km was unrealistic, which was higher than London city centre (11,522 people per square km), Paris (20,909 people per square km) and Hong Kong (17,000 people per square km).
Chow said the population projection by the project delivery partner of the PTMP was based on data from the Statistics Department.
He said official numbers show Penang had a population of 1.7 million last year and this is expected to grow by 25,000 to 30,000, or at a 1.5-2.5% rate each year in coming years.
Chow said by the time the PTMP projects are completed, around 2030, Penang would have “at least 2.3 million people”, as revealed by the country’s statisticians.
“NGOs sometimes pluck figures from the sky, without referring to official statistics. The PTMP population estimate was based on the number available when the projection was made, which was in 2015.
“Based on population growth data and the current population, by 2030, we will have 2.2 to 2.4 million people.
“So how are we going to cater to that many people? Can the island hold these many people?” he asked, saying this was where the reclaimed islands came into play.
Chow said with the reclaimed islands, Penang will have more space to house its extra population.
“Maybe the NGOs are not responsible for the future 2.4 million Penangites but as the government, we need to take care of the future population.
“The PTMP will spur growth and create jobs from an excellent public transport system and other measures,” he said.
PTMP will see a series of highways and transit lines built in the state in the next 20 to 30 years at a cost of RM46 billion.
It would be financed through the creation of three artificial islands on the south of Penang Island, which would later be auctioned off to interested parties. However, the plan has yet to be approved by environmental regulators.
The Penang government is eager to kickstart two of its main projects, the Pan Island Link 1 highway (costing RM8 billion) and the Komtar-Bayan Lepas LRT line (RM8.4 billion).
The state has requested for a soft loan of RM1 billion to kick-start both the projects so they can proceed concurrently, without having to wait for the islands to be reclaimed.