P84 to be opened again soon
Rest stop will finally be revamped after being damaged in landslide
GEORGE TOWN: Station 84, a popular rest area for hikers and cyclists up on Penang Hill will finally be refurbished, five years after it partially collapsed in a landslide.
The project to upgrade the rest station at KM2.5 (known as Point 84 or P84) would be carried out by the Penang Hill Corporation, in collaboration with Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Penang Lion’s Club.
PHC general manager Cheok Lay Leng said the main purpose of the P84 station’s upgrade, estimated at around RM250,000, was to provide shelter for hikers and cyclists.
“The cost will be funded by private companies. Individuals can also contribute to the project, which has the state government’s support,” he said at the Station 84 Refurbishment Project ground- breaking ceremony yesterday.
It is expected to be completed in three months.
In September 2013, at least 13 locations in and around Penang Hill were hit by landslides following several days of downpour. Hikers were told to stop using P84.
Cheok said P84’s upgrade was in line with PHC’s commitment to manage and monitor Penang Hill’s overall development.
MBPP will provide the design while the club will initiate fundraising activities to fund this and an unused public toilet there.
P84 committee chairman Datuk Jimmy Ong, who is also Emico Holdings Berhad managing director, said: “If you look towards that area, you will see the remaining wall of the original rest area. The original rest area was built by a group of hikers, led by Emico founder Lim Beng Huan, in 1986.
“After the 2013 landslide, what you see is the remaining structure and a wall plaque with names of contributors. A rough count states that the number of contributors was 416 names.”
State Housing, Town, Country Planning and Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo, who officiated the groundbreaking ceremony, said the project was in line with a greener, cleaner, safer and healthier Penang.