Penang govt not ‘running away’ from NCPR town hall, says Zairil; session after design finalised

GEORGE TOWN, Nov 17 — The Penang government will not “run away” from holding public engagement sessions on the new alignment for the North Coastal Paired Road (NCPR), said state exco Zairil Khir Johari.

The state infrastructure, transport and digital committee chairman said it is part of the process for the state to hold public engagement sessions during the process of applying for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval for the new alignment.

“We are finalising the detailed design for the new alignment and once it is finalised, we will apply for EIA,” he said in a press conference today in response to calls by Tanjung Bungah, Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang residents for town hall sessions to be held regarding the project.

He said the finalised detailed design is expected to be ready by early next year.

Zairil explained that the necessary engagement sessions on NCPR were held during the process of applying for EIA for the project back in 2016 before the EIA was approved in November 2017.

“These sessions, including town hall meetings and public consultations, involved residents from Batu Ferringhi, Tanjong Bungah, Teluk Bahang, NGOs, residents and the tourism industry,” he said.

He said findings from those sessions indicated that more than two-thirds of respondents supported the implementation of the NCPR.

He advised the affected residents to be patient as the state will hold the necessary engagement sessions once they completed the detailed design of the new alignment and submitted it for EIA approval.

Zairil said it is understandable that some residents would object to the construction of NCPR near their homes as it would result in some form of inconvenience and disruption.

“As is the case with all major infrastructure construction projects in the state, measures will be taken to engage affected residents during the construction stage in order to best mitigate the inconveniences,” he said.

He said Batu Ferringhi is a well-known beach resort and home to famous high-end hotels and resorts.

“Tourists throng the town during weekends and holidays. As a result, thousands of people who live in Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang are completely reliant on tourism and hospitality-related activities for their livelihoods,” he said.

He said there is currently only one access road — a two-lane single carriageway with one lane for traffic in each direction — to Batu Ferringhi and it has been affected by increasing congestion.

“The situation gets even worse when the road is affected by accidents, landslides or falling trees, and with no alternative access, emergency services could take a long time to arrive, potentially creating a high-risk situation,” he said.

He said this is already happening right now as one of the lanes along the road is currently closed due to serious soil erosion and repairs are expected to take four months until February 2026.

He said the 10.61km NCPR is the state’s plan for resolving a long-standing traffic problem.

“In addition, the creation of a new access road to Batu Ferringhi and Teluk Bahang will also allow the communities there to gain better connectivity to important services such as healthcare and banking, besides allowing the two areas to develop even further, improving economic livelihood,” he said.

Works on the RM2.9 billion highway is expected to start in 2026 and complete in 2031.