No Transport Hub at Prangin Canal, Please

By Khoo Salmah Nasution

President, Penang Heritage Trust

The newly announced Penang Transport Masterplan proposes a transport hub at the Prangin Canal. The open space is important to the people who live and work around it. The Prangin Market, the Prangin Canal, the heritage shophouses and the underground remains make this place rich with social memory.

Prangin Canal was built in 1804 as part of a defensive moat around George Town. It later became a busy waterway for small boats and the area around the Prangin Market developed into a bustling trading place. Today the Prangin Canal is located at the edge of the George Town World Heritage Site.

In late 2014, the Penang State Government declared that Prangin Canal (KOMTAR Phase V area) would be turned into an art district and people’s park.

Now it plans to turn Prangin Canal into a KL-Sentral type transport hub, the meeting point of 1 elevated LRT line and 2 elevated monorail lines, as well as a multi-storey car park.

The construction of the transport hub at Prangin Canal would destroy the history and heritage of Prangin Canal, and the possibility of a people’s park.

In order to prevent irreversible negative impacts on the George Town World Heritage Site, we propose two alternatives:

1. Shift the transport hub to the Jelutong Landfill.

2. Opt for street-level modern generation trams (LRVs).

Please give your feedback here http://pgmasterplan.penang.gov.my/index.php/en/feedback