The Penang Island Municipal Council plans to negotiate with the developers of two controversial high-rise buildings to reduce the heights of their projects. The buildings are part of four approved high-rise projects that have caused an outcry in the state as they could adversely effect its heritage status.

kampung buah pala penang demolition fracas 030908 zainal rahim seman Council president Zainal Rahim Seman ( right ) was optimistic that the two developers – Asia Global Business and Bintang Holdings Sdn Bhd – could be persuaded to mutually agree to reduce the heights of their buildings to conform to Unesco heritage guidelines for the city.

Since the council is yet to approve the building plans of these projects, a successful negotiation is believed to be highly possible.

However, it is too late to negotiate on the other two approved projects developed by Boustead Holdings Sdn Bhd and E & O Hotel since construction works are already underway.

"We can negotiate and persuade Asia Global Business and Bintang to reach a mutual agreement for the benefit of Penang and all Penangites.

"I believe it is possible because the developers understand the situation," Zainal said during press conference held by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng at the state legislative assembly conference room today.

Asia Global Business is planning to construct a 10-storey hotel (51.7m) in Weld Quay while Bintang will build a 23-storey hotel (84.47m) in Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah.

The other two projects are an extension of the E & O Hotel in Lebuh Farquhar and a 10-storey hotel in Weld Quay.

Pointing out that the authorities cannot afford to cancel the given approvals, Zainal stressed that the best way to resolve the issue was via negotiations to find an amicable solution to the problem.

"We will end up paying millions if we were to cancel the planning approvals," he said.

The state government had approved the four high-rise hotels in heritage zones on June 26, some 10 days before Georgetown was enlisted as a Unesco global heritage city.

The state government, which has come under fire from locals for the controversial approvals, defended its decision by saying that the approvals were given based on existing building guidelines.

Legal repercussions

"At the time, Georgetown was not declared a heritage city, thus the new state government followed the existing planning guidelines," Lim said today, stressing that the Pakatan Rakyat government was committed to preserving, protecting and promoting the city’s unique heritage.

The state cannot reverse its decision to approve the four high-rise building projects in the Georgetown heritage zone for fear of legal repercussions.

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Under Section 37 of the Town and Country Planning Act, the state authorities will have to issue a purchase order to buy the affected property if there are changes in planning zones, guidelines and policies, and even cancellation of planning approvals.

The new heritage management guidelines were among the conditions imposed by Unesco to the state authorities when application to enlist Georgetown as a heritage city was made last August.

Under the guidelines, town planning in Georgetown must strictly adhere to Unesco's guidelines on heritage conservation and preservation.

It is learnt that the local municipality drafted stringent new conservation guidelines prohibiting new buildings within the heritage zone from exceeding the height of 18m or about five-storeys.