Approval of Penang Transportation Master Plan

Months ago, Penang executive council gave the green light to the ambitious Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project’s delivery partner SRS Consortium Sdn Bhd to work on mitigating the traffic congestion by 2030. The total proposed cost is around RM46 billion and covers the cost of the railway and highway which also included three major roads and an undersea tunnel project.

Just few days ago, Penang government announced that a sum of RM17 billion from an estimated total cost of RM46 billion for the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project has been approved.

Penang Chief Minister, Lim Guan Eng says that “The TMP is an ambitious ‘big-bang’ approach towards facing the biggest challenge of both traffic congestion and public transport by adopting the approach of “moving people, not vehicles”.


How does PTMP change the property landscape in Penang?
Without any doubts, the highlight of the PTMP will be the LRT and monorails in Penang. As part of the state government’s effort to overcome traffic congestion, the LRT and monorail projects in Penang is approved. Penangites will now be able enjoy better public transport with this approval.

The railway scheme covers both the island and mainland, with one LRT and two monorail lines on the island, one LRT line across the sea linking both sides of Penang, and a bus rapid transit (BRT) system.

Local government exco member Chow Kon Yeow said the priority for the railway scheme will be the light rail transit (LRT) line linking Komtar in the city centre of George Town and the Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas. This project, he said, would be Phase One of the railway scheme and treated as a priority project. The Phase One construction of the LRT is expected to start in 2018 and take 6 years to complete.

To look at the planned map for the LRT routes, click here.

What does it has to do with us? Well, it means those property on the routes of LRT/Monorail will further appreciate as they provide more public transport benefits. One can even give up buying cars and go to work by LRT/Monorails like KL people.

Penang is very much similar to Hong Kong. The land of Hong Kong has appreciated so much that even parking a car cost HKD 25 per hour! Park there for a day work and you will need to fork out HKD 250 ( ~RM130! ) just for the parking fee! I certainly hope it would not happen to our beloved Penang. Invest well before the time comes.

Happy investing and look at the proposed map!

W.