by Marina Emmanuel

FOR those visiting Penang over the Christmas and New Year break, a visit to Penang’s once-famous sea-fronting promenade – Gurney Drive – was a shock of sorts to the senses.

The reclamation works have left in its place, mounds of earth, tractors and excavators doing its job and a generally unkempt fencing, garbage strewn over it and unpleasant smells at some spots.

“And to think we used to enjoy the Penang Dragon Boat Festival from here once, with the wind blowing on our faces,” lamented Lin during a morning walk.

The morning and evening walkers and joggers can still be found along the promenade stretch these days, but the numbers are not like before.

Who wants to put up with acidic smells in the air, dust from construction works and lesser blue waters and less than stunning sunrises and sunsets when exercising?

Sunrise in Gurney Drive

A RM200 million ‘Gurney Wharf’ project is said to be in the works on a portion of the reclaimed land.

The state government-initiated effort which will be carried out in two components is expected to see the first phase ready this year.

It will include a children’s playground, skate park, viewing deck (south vantage point), public toilets, pedestrian promenade, trader’s kiosks, recreational park, landscape areas and open space car parks.

The second component – slated for completion by 2025 – will reportedly feature additional landscaping areas, more recreational parks, a hawker centre, a viewing deck (north vantage point), public toilets, more trader’s kiosks, multi-storey car parks, open space car parks, a beach area and boardwalk, water garden, and the drainage system.

Reclamation work along the Gurney Drive foreshore began in 2016, with reclamation of 53ha completed in September 2019.

The reclamation work was reported to be carried out in accordance with a concession agreement signed between the Penang government and Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd (TPD), a subsidiary of Eastern & Oriental Bhd.

Under the agreement, TPD would reclaim the land at its own cost and hand over 53ha along the Gurney foreshore to the state government by December 2022.

A total of 53 ha of land was reclaimed and only 16 ha of it have been allocated for a public park.

The state has yet to disclose its plans for the rest of the land and whether it will be sold to private parties or used for land swap purposes.

As those who grew up enjoying the “old” Gurney Drive and its long and generous stretch of blue seas and cool breezes are lamenting the “good old days”, others do not seem to be affected by the loss of this tourism icon and are looking forward to what development and progress are set to bring.

Meanwhile, at least some pockets are Instagram-worthy to visitors, and the birds on the drive can still gather and enjoy what appears to be a new (and temporary?) eco-system which has sprung up.

After chasing headlines and bylines for over three decades, Marina Emmanuel now chases island sunrises, sunsets and comments on anything else in between; from George Town in Penang