GEORGE TOWN, April 20 — Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow extended his apologies today to residents of the Jay Series condominium who suffered damage from blasting work carried out for a nearby highway project at Bukit Hijau. Chow emphasized that the damage caused by the blasting work, which occurred just 70 meters from the condominium, should not have happened at all. He expressed his concern, stating, “Even though this is one time out of 600, I am not saying it is lucky; it should not happen even once.”
Yesterday’s controlled blasting sent debris and soil flying towards the condominium area, resulting in damage to three cars, a swimming pool, and an awning at the rest area for condominium residents. In response, the project contractor, Consortium Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd (CZC), dispatched 20 workers to assist with the clean-up. The project director of Penang Infrastructure Corporation (PIC) issued a statement this morning, outlining additional safety measures to prevent similar incidents during future blasting work, including reducing the depth of the drill, expanding the coverage of ground cover, and increasing soil load and steel plates as additional safety protection.
