About RM40 million will be spent on several public projects over the next two years to improve the living standard in the Southwest district, which encompasses Teluk Bahang, Balik Pulau, Teluk Kumbar, Bayan Lepas free industrial zone and Sungai Ara areas.

Apart from the Penang Island Municipal Council's plan to build three new one-stop five-storey residential-cum-commercial complexes, the district will have a new Syariah Court building, public library and sports complex.

The RM4 million court house will be built near the district mosque in Balik Pulau town.

Southwest district officer Zainal Rahim Seman said the land acquisition process for the project would be completed in the next few months.

"Its landscaping work will start immediately after we have completed the land acquisition," he said.

If everything goes according to plan, the new court building will be operational by the middle of next year.

The district office is also working closely with the council to complete the new RM5 million sports complex in Balik Pulau before the Penang Games (Sukpen) which is scheduled for mid-2005.

No white elephant

Located on 2ha of council land, the complex will have a football field, a running track, six tennis courts, a swimming pool, an electronic scoreboard, spectator pavilion, locker rooms and a hostel.

Although the project is being built for Sukpen, it has been designed to host future Malaysian Games (Sukma) in the state.

"It will not be a white elephant," Zainal said, adding that the state football, tennis and swimming squads and local sports enthusiasts too can utilise the facilities.

"The complex is crucial for future sports development in the state, particularly in the district," he said.

The RM3 million district library, to be built by the district office, is expected to be ready also by mid-2005.

"We will complete its land acquisition process by July," said Zainal.

First of its kind

The library will also have a study hall, audio visual room, multi-resource laboratory and several meeting rooms. The double-storey library can accommodate about 600 people at any one time.

The council will spend RM27 million to build five-storey residential-cum-commercial complexes, each of which will have three-storey of residential units, a wet market, a small public library, a multi-purpose hall and a meeting room, at Balik Pulau, Batu Maung and Teluk Kumbar towns.

The one-stop complexes will cater for housing, business and household needs of the residents.

The complexes, the first of its kind in the district, is scheduled to be ready by end of 2005 and fully operational by early 2006.

All projects are designed to cater for the socio-economic needs of the district population of 180,000 for the next 20 years.

"The residents will have better facilities to carry out their socio-economic activities," Zainal said.

ATHI VEERANGGAN is malaysiakini's Penang-based stringer.