GEORGE TOWN: Proposed buildings within the heritage enclave in George Town cannot be taller than 18m, says Chow Kon Yeow.
The Penang Chief Minister said this when outlining the details of the guidelines for the proposed land redevelopment project within the heritage site, covering an area almost the size of eight football fields along Pengkalan Weld.
“There are rules governing redevelopment in a Unesco World Heritage site, and within George Town, there is a height limit of 18m.
“Developers will find it challenging because that is the maximum they can build on this land,” Chow said during an engagement session held at a hotel here.
He said the project developer must find ways to work within these constraints while taking advantage of available opportunities.
The guidelines mean that proposed buildings cannot exceed five or six floors once permanent rooftop structures such as water tanks, elevator shaft overruns and fire escape headroom are taken into account.
“Growth must respect history and modernisation must co-exist with preservation. Given its proximity to the clan jetties and other historic landmarks, heritage sensitivity and contextual design will be central,” he said.
The proposed redevelopment area covers a 5.36ha site located less than 1km from the famed clan jetties along Pengkalan Weld, a major tourist attraction.
Some 4.88ha of the land is owned by the state while 0.49ha is held by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC).
The site, located at the end of Pengkalan Weld and before Gat Lebuh Macallum, currently has about 200 village homes with families who have lived there for over three generations.
Chow said the mixed development was envisaged to deliver sustainable outcomes, including a structured housing scheme to raise living standards while optimising land value through responsible redevelopment.
He added that the state, through PDC, had set a reserve price for the land as a baseline valuation, urging tender proposers to submit competitive offers and consider additional guaranteed contributions to enhance the project’s value. It was previously reported to be RM343.73mil. He revealed that four parties had bought the request for proposal (RFP) documents so far. The submission deadline is March 26.
