GEORGE TOWN: A few blocks of old two-storey homes called Burmah Square here are due for re-urbanisation, but Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow has clarified that this is only in the planning stage.

       Addressing tenants and nearby residents who want things to stay as they are in the area that used to be government quarters, he clarified that only planning permission was being sought at this point.

       He stressed that Penang Island City Council has not given its approval yet and assured the tenants that the voices of everyone including neighbouring landowners will be heard.

       "If at all the project kicks off, it will only start in 2024 or 2025," he told reporters on Thursday (April 14).

       Penang Development Corporation (PDC) owns a few rows of old, two-storey government quarters off an old section of Burma Road between Komtar and the Pulau Tikus suburb.

       As this corner in the Northeast District is near areas such as Gurney Drive, it is considered among the few prime land assets of PDC, the state government's development agency.

       Until recently, these old structures were only rented out to chic eateries and small offices.

       Earlier this year, tenants received letters telling them that their leases would not be renewed and they must vacate.

       This sparked a wave of protests. On Thursday, Chow clarified that some of the old terraced structures were classified as Class Two heritage buildings, so it will be necessary to maintain the heritage facade, with the back area removed to make way for modern, multi-storey structures.

       He gave his assurance that PDC, of which he is chairman, would preserve what had to be conserved.

       “It is not true that we can do anything on any land. Even without local plans, we have the structure plans and guidelines, along with density and plot ratios, to control the types of buildings and development,” he told the media at the opening of a new logistics centre near Penang International Airport.