GEORGE TOWN: One of the largest remaining swaths of land in the Unesco World Heritage Site here, roughly the size of almost eight World Cup football fields, is slated for redevelopment.
The 5.36ha site now holds about 200 tightly packed village houses occupied by families who have lived there for more than three generations.
Owned by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC), the land is under a request for proposal (RFP) calling for parties to purchase and develop the parcel.
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According to the RFP, the site is in Section 23 of the island’s Northeast District, and the tender is open to local and international companies or consortiums.
Its location is at the end of Pengkalan Weld after the clan jetties and before Gat Lebuh Macallum.
The place, however, does not share the characteristics of the clan jetties in that nearly all the houses are built on land and the residents are not of a clan sharing the same surname.
Interested parties have up to Feb 26 to obtain the RFP document for a non-refundable fee of RM5,000 through PDC’s property development and management division in Bayan Lepas. Payment may be made via online transfer, with the documents issued electronically after confirmation.
PDC stated an indicative departmental price of RM343.73mil for the land, stressing that the figure is an estimate and does not bind the agency to award or complete the project at that amount.
Tenderers are barred from any form of price-fixing or cartel arrangement and submissions must be placed in sealed envelopes and deposited at PDC’s Procurement Division by noon on March 30.
The proposal forms part of efforts to rejuvenate state and PDC land within George Town’s heritage core, where development is subject to tighter planning controls and conservation requirements.
Further details, including development parameters and evaluation criteria, are contained in the full RFP.
The area, known locally as the Red Lamp Corner settlement, involves more than 200 households currently living on temporary land titles.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said all the households would receive affordable housing apartments nearby as part of the relocation package and replacement housing built by the state through PDC would follow a one-to-one policy.
He said the apartments are expected to be issued their certificate of completion and compliance in December, and residents could move in between May and June next year after nearby LRT works are completed.
