GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has received overwhelming support from some 97.67 per cent of respondents during the three month-long public inspection of the Bayan Lepas Light Rail Transit (LRT) project which ended recently.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said out of the 23,218 feedback received, some 22,678 respondents were in favour of the LRT project, while only 540 respondents or 2.33 per cent, objected.
The public inspection is one of 30 conditions set by the Transport Ministry when it granted conditional approval for the proposed Bayan Lepas LRT scheme on July 17. The conditions needed to be fulfilled before the project can proceed.
"This is the measurement of the people's support towards the LRT project.
"After this, we need to respond to the concerns raised before we await a final decision from the Land Public Transport Agency (APAD) on the matter," he said when asked to comment on the matter.
Asked what were among the issues raised by the respondents, Chow said they were related to the alignment as well as the locations of the stations.
"Some also questioned the inconvenience caused during the course of the construction.
"We will provide answers to all of that before submitting afinal report to APAD," he added.
Of the 30 conditions, the state would also need to obtain the approvals for the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment (DEIA) for the railway scheme, DEIA approval for the Penang South Reclamation, Social Impact Assessment report, Heritage Impact Assessment report, Traffic Impact Assessment report and others.
The rail line for the LRT project will cover 29.9 kilometres and 27 stations, running from Komtar to the Penang International Airport and to the three future reclaimed islands in the south of Penang, estimated to cost RM8 billion.
A state-initiated project, the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP), to solve the state’s traffic woes, is expected to cost an estimated RM46 billion.
It features an undersea tunnel linking the island to the mainland, highways, LRT and monorail, and extensive bus connectivity on both the island and mainland.
Chow was met after witnessing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony between OCBC Bank (Malaysia) Bhd (OCBC Bank) and Monitor ERP System Sdn Bhd (Monitor ERP) at his office in Komtar here.
OCBC Bank would provide customise financing to the latter's SME customers for purchasing the proprietary Monitor Enterprise Resources Planning (ERP) system.
Monitor ERP, founded in Sweden in 1974 and established its presence in Penang since 2013, is a market leader in ERP software and solutions for manufacturing companies to manage and control their entire business operations more efficeiently.
Also present were OCBC Bank Peang branch senior manager Chea Hak Tee, Monitor ERP System Sdn Bhd managing director Daniel Haggmark and Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Penang branch vice-chairman Jimmy Ong Chin Keng.