SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government is looking for a new location to build a dedicated motorsport racing circuit, the Selangor State Legislative Assembly was told Thursday (Nov 21).
State executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship, Najwan Halimi (pic) said an earlier proposal to develop the facility in Sungai Tua, Gombak has been derailed by findings of the project’s environmental impact and high costs.
He said that the consultants had presented their findings based on a 16.2ha area, in which only a 2.25km racing circuit could be built.
"This distance is insufficient for drag racing (400m straight-line race) because the maximum straight line that can be constructed is only 340m, whereas the minimum approved length for safety standards is 600m.
Furthermore, there is a river flow in the study area, with the water ending up at Batu Dam.
“If earthworks are carried out and it rains, it will affect the river’s water quality, impacting cleanliness and causing disruptions to the water supply," he said.
He was responding to a question from Mohd Razali Saari (PN-Sungai Panjang), who wanted to know whether the state government had conducted any social and environmental impact studies on the proposed area for the motorsport racing circuit development in Selangor.
Regarding the state's readiness to sponsor motorsport athletes at the international level, Najwan said that the government is always open to discussions with state-owned companies for such purposes.
"We assess from various aspects, though motorsport is quite costly. However, if sponsorship from state-owned companies is possible, we can discuss it. We will evaluate the suitability and have further discussions," he said. - Bernama
