He stated that the reasons for this were twofold. The first is that it would blight the old colonial structures of George Town and the second was down to the high cost of building it. In a statement released last week, Tan said the project was nothing more than a white elephant.
In the statement, Tan noted that even the bill for the feasibility study was in the range of millions of ringgit and it was time to scrap the plan before more money was thrown down the drain. He finished off by saying that although development was inevitable, anything on a large scale could see George Town scrubbed off the UNESCO World Heritage list.
George Town is across from Butterworth on the mainland. Ferries link the two. Butterworth Railway Station is minutes away on foot from the ferry piers. The station is the arrival point for trains from Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Padang Besar and Bangkok. If buying tickets for these trains, 12GO ASIA is a hassle free choice.
Our image of the George Town UNESCO office was supplied by Focus Malaysia
Proposed Penang tunnel could endanger George Town heritage
News in Asia
Heritage activists on Penang Island say a proposed submarine tunnel from mainland Malaysia could endanger the UNESCO World Heritage status of George Town. The deputy-head of the Malaysian Chinese Association, Tan Teik Cheng, explained that the state government did not have the backing of the islanders for the underwater tunnel.