Community campus in the pipeline

Chow (second left) discussing a point with Koay (right) as he views the map showing the location of Tzu-Chi’s proposed community education campus in Batu Kawan. With them is PDC general manager Mohd Bazid Abd Kahar.

A COMMUNITY education campus will be built by a non-governmental organisation on 12.14ha (30 acres) of land in Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan, on the Penang mainland.

Buddhist Tzu-Chi Merits Society Malaysia chief executive officer Koay Chiew Poh said the project would be carried out in four phases over 15 years on the land that was bought for RM52.3mil.

“The community education project that would cost between RM150mil and RM200mil, is aimed at expanding our humanitarian works.

“Once completed, we expect to see a community education institution that covers various areas including welfare, medical and education.

“It will have an auditorium, multipurpose halls, hostels, shops, a library, offices and more.

“The campus’ architecture and design will be built based on green building specifications.

“It will be for use by our community as a main destination for medical and spiritual retreats,” he said during the signing of a purchase and development agreement with Penang Development Corporation (PDC) on Wednesday .

Koay said he hoped the project could take off once the necessary permissions were obtained.

“It will enable us to serve our society through our missions and contribute to the Penang 2030 Vision towards a family-focused, green and smart state.

“This will give birth to our vision to play a more significant role to promote spiritual cultivation in our society,” he added.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the state government and PDC would provide full support to the catalytic project to transform Bandar Cassia into a ‘Work, Live, Learn and Play’ eco-city.

“With Tzu-Chi’s investment, their presence will be a value-added boost in terms of human values in the modern city’s development.

“With Tzu-Chi making its grand entry into Bandar Cassia, we foresee diverse and stronger economic growth for Penang, besides an influx of investors to the Pearl of the Orient,” Chow said.

He said that Tzu-Chi had shown interest in reserving an additional 12.14ha of land for expansion and provision of more facilities in the future.

“The state government, through PDC will continue to facilitate, promote and support the growth of Bandar Cassia in Batu Kawan,” he added.