Positive impact of LRT

THE value of property in Penang will be enhanced when the first light rail transit (LRT) line is completed in five to six years.

Zeon Properties chief executive officer Leon Lee said in his talk on ‘Penang Infrastructure: The Key Factor of Property Investment’ that the first LRT line was planned to link Komtar and Bayan Lepas.

“We can expect the housing projects along the LRT line and the new bus routes to appreciate.

“The LRT will be supported by an improved bus system and as well as trams, according to the state government’s plan.

“As the LRT cannot go door to door, the buses will provide the last mile interconnectivity to the housing estates,” Lee said during the Star Property Fair 2014, organised by Star Publications (M) Bhd with Zeon Properties as the event partner.

He added that infrastructure played a vital role in determining a property’s value.

“For example, the prices of property in Batu Maung increased significantly after the announcement that the second Penang bridge would be opened to traffic.

“In 2007, a terrace house in Batu Maung was worth about RM700,000. But now, a similar unit is priced at RM1.4mil,” he said.

In his talk on ‘The Future of Penang Property’, Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd researcher Ishmael Ho said that although the second bridge was new, he still recommended buyers to look into property near the first bridge.

“With factories and eateries near the first bridge, the place will prosper faster,” he said.

“Areas around the second bridge will take about 10 years to become developed,” he said.

GM Training Academy chief executive officer and founder Miichael Yeoh recommended property in new townships such as Batu Kawan.

“Within five years, once factories, retail outlets and education hubs step in, property will bloom there,” he said in his talk on ‘Penang Property Outlook & Strategies’.