Agreement Signed for Butterworth Land Reclamation Project

The Penang government has entered into a second supplementary agreement with Rayston Consortium (Butterworth) Sdn Bhd (RCSB) to further enhance the Land Reclamation and Resettlement Agreement (LRRA) which was first made in 1999, reports Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

The new waterfront is set to be created within the next few years in north Butterworth, between the North Butterworth Container Terminal (NBCT) and Jalan Tunku Putra, Teluk Air Tawar.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said that the latest supplementary agreement involved amendments and additional clauses. “The Penang government and RCSB first entered into the agreement (LRRA) on June 16, 1999.”

“The LRRA was made following the concession agreement between the Federal Government and Lingkaran Luar Butterworth (Penang) Sdn Bhd to build, operate, manage and maintain the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR),” added Chow Kon Yeow. “Based on the terms set by the Economic Planning Unit of the Prime Minister’s Department at that time, Lingkaran Luar Butterworth (Penang) Sdn Bhd was a ‘special purpose vehicle’ and could not execute other functions other than to build, operate, manage and maintain the BORR.”

“Therefore, a separate agreement (the LRRA) was made to carry out the land reclamation and relocation of the affected ground tenants due to the BORR project. As compensation, RCSB was given the rights to reclaim, and develop the reclaimed land at Bagan Ajam,” said Chow Kon Yeow.

Chow also added that the second supplementary agreement inked would see the Penang government gaining an additional 77.41ha of land as compared to the original agreement signed in 1999.

State Secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus represented the Penang government during the signing of the second agreement, while RCSB was represented by its director Datuk Ronnie Lim. Also present were Penang executive council member Soon Lip Chee and Penang Finance Officer Datuk Sarul Bahiyah Abu.