This followed a report last week which saw the Citizen Awareness Chant Group (Chant) asking for further information on the alleged sale of at least seven acres (2.8ha) of land belonging to the Penang government.
Chant said it had been learnt that the land was being sold to a private party for a large-scale wellness project on Peel Avenue.
The NGO also asked if the Penang government would hold a public consultation before any structure was built on the land.
State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow confirmed that the land was owned by the Penang government, and parked under Chief Minister Incorporated (CMI).
He said there were three parcels of land in the area, with CMI owning the largest. Other smaller tracts were owned by a private hospital across Peel Avenue.
“It is an expansion of a private hospital opposite. At the moment, it is not easy to obtain a hospital licence.
“CMI will be holding a press conference about the project this week together with a partner,” Chow told reporters without revealing further details.
He was speaking to members of the media while visiting the Batu Lanchang Market here today.
Last week, FMT’s search for documentation of ownership on lot 1449 at the state Land and Mines Office in Komtar failed to produce any concrete results.
An officer there showed FMT a land grants book with only an empty page corresponding to the lot.
He said it was likely that the plot was a piece of “empty land” or a “padang” (field).
The land, presently occupied by colonial-era government bungalows and a vehicle depot, is located directly across from the Civil Defence Department’s state headquarters along upmarket Peel Avenue.