Penang Hill Hawker Development Center...

Work on the Penang Hill new hawker centre is expected to start soon.

Penang Municipal Council (MPPP) building director Yew Tung Seang said a meeting would be held with traders currently occupying the old complex to discuss the temporary relocation.

“There are 26 lots at the current site. We need to move the traders before work can start,” he said, adding that a Penang-based contractor was appointed via open tender for the Penang Hill redevelopment project last month.

Yew said the site was to have been handed over to the contractor by Nov 8 but the trader relocation had caused a slight delay.

“We will negotiate with the traders for an amicable solution. We need to demolish the existing structure before work can commence.

“The challenge we are facing is space – where do we move them to? One suggestion is the roadside area near the upper train station,” he said.

Yew said the move would only be for a short period of four months although the hawker centre was scheduled for completion in six months.

“We want to expedite construction to minimise inconvenience caused to the traders.

“Hopefully, we can catch up with the progress of the RM63mil funicular train service upgrading project (expected to be completed by December or January),” he said.

The old tracks of the funicular railway may be used as pillars for the hawker centre to preserve the funicular railway’s history.

The centre will be built at a strategic spot to enable visitors to have a magnificent view of the island.

I understand the point behind this move, it's for the good of Penang tourism as well as the state image to attact more visitors. However, I do question them about the timing of the implementation. Why can't they do the same time as the train upgrade? Previously the hawker suffers when the train service was down. Now when it's about to complete, they want to tear down the hawker center? Really cannot understand this move and pity the traders there...