GEORGE TOWN, Nov 9 ― It will take two weeks for the Public Works Department (PWD) to repair and stabilise the slopes at Teluk Bahang, said Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng.
The Penang lawmaker, who thanked the PWD and the federal government for stepping in to hasten the repair works, said two weeks are needed to ensure that the slopes and road are secured and safe for traffic use.
“It is a shorter duration than the expected months so we hope they will be able to complete the repair works in two weeks,” the chief minister told a press conference at St Giles Hotel here.
According to Public Works and Utilities Committee Chairman Lim Hock Seng, there are two affected sections along the road leading from Batu Ferringhi to Teluk Bahang, one is the landslide from a hill slope and another the road that collapsed.
“For the hill slope, they will put up cement netting and soil nailing and for the road, they will use metal sheet piling and repair the road,” Hock Seng said.
Hock Seng said PWD has already mobilised the machineries needed for the repair works today.
“They will start work today and complete it within the two week period,” he said.
Penang PWD director Salleh Awang said both the landslide and road collapse incidents were unexpected as it did not happen at the usual hotspots.
“We have secured other hotspots and these incidents happened at unexpected sites as there were no land clearing works at these sites,” he said.
Salleh said currently they will continue to monitor and study the length of the road and believes that the other sections of the road is stable.
On Monday, about 25m of the road collapsed on the hilly road while further up, landslide has brought mud and debris down onto the road, making the portion of the road inaccessible.
Due to the road collapse, the road was closed to traffic except to allow motorcycles only at certain intervals.
Hock Seng said Entopia and Tropical Spice Garden had asked that some tour groups be allowed to pass the road as the groups had made bookings earlier and could not cancel.
“We will allow them to walk pass the blocked section of the road and after that they will take vans on the other side,” he said.
He said this arrangement has to be made as the tourist sites could not cancel the group tours.
