RM245mil Penang cable car project gets EIA approval

 

An artist’s impression of the Penang Hill cable car.

GEORGE TOWN: The RM245 million Penang Hill cable car project has received a key environmental approval, with construction to begin in April.

Penang Hill Corporation general manager Cheok Lay Leng said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for the 2.9km line was obtained last month and the project will take about 18 months to complete.

Cheok Lay Leng.

“We have received planning approval permission from the city council, too. The key thing is to manage our stakeholders as we carry out this project and getting input on the additional conditions imposed,” he told reporters at Penang Hill today.

In 2022, the Penang government selected Hartasuma, a Klang Valley-based company, for the project with a 30-year concession.

It was previously reported that a large multi-storey car park will be built on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens, connecting it to the cable car station. From there, the gondolas will serve 1,000 persons at any one time at a speed of 6m per second, operating at about 700m above sea level to the Penang Hill station.

Doppelmayr, an Austrian company, is set to supply the gondolas.

The state had said the cable car will be within the transition zone of the Unesco reserve, where development is allowed.

Those supporting the cable car project say it would boost tourism to the island as well as alleviate traffic on the Swiss-made funicular trains, which are prone to breakdowns.

The Unesco biosphere reserve on the hill covers 12,481ha, comprising  the Botanic Gardens, the Penang National Park, six permanent forest reserves and two dams.

Green groups previously spoke against the project, saying it would ruin the precious Penang Hill range that runs through the spine of the island.

With 1.6 million visitors to the hill last year alone, the state said the  funicular railway is running at overcapacity, and the cable car will help reduce its load.

Earlier today, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow opened a new RM10.9 million waiting area at the top station, which can accommodate 700 people.

The waiting area also boasts 334 solar panels. - FMT