LETTER | I refer to the letter Reconsider construction of PIL1 highway in Penang.

It has been reported that tourism alone contributes 50 percent of Penang's state revenue and efforts are being made to increase the number of direct flights to Penang.

A causeway from Gurney Drive to Bayan Lepas not only facilitates travel to and from the airport, such as food and beverage joints.

Around the world, waterfronts with a view of the sea and sunrise/sunset over the horizon afford the ideal setting for enhancing the atmosphere for eating out, including Penang's Fisherman's Wharf food court, despite its proximity to the former Jelutong dump.

The dump's occasional peat fires are due to non-separation of electrical waste from the deposits of building rubble.

And the Pakatan Rakyat administration which took over Penang in 2008 had to deal with this consequence in the rush to provide a rubbish dump for George Town.

Embankments on causeways with a vantage point providing a panoramic view of the land and sea around will generate detoured sites which command a good premium in prices for entrepreneurs and investors.

This link leads to a televised news report which illustrates the business savvy of an American entrepreneur in acquiring restaurants sited on a causeway.

If PIL 1 gets substituted with a causeway, I hope the Penang state Government will be more "creitive" (puns with creative) and park all the business sites spawned along it into a state-helmed Causeway Real Estate Investment Trust (Creit) where Penangites can invest in its units.

Of course, the proponents of PIL 1 can plan for eatery sites along the stretch of the highway bridge over the City (Youth) Park but the tunnels can only provide rock and soil for construction purposes.

One can easily see that a Gurney Drive-Bayan Lepas causeway is comparatively more fun and fundable than PIL 1.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.