Selangor drops plan to build motorcycle racing circuit in Gombak, but pressing on, looking for new location
Back in 2018, the Selangor state government indicated it was planning to build a motorcycle racing circuit in Sungai Tua, Gombak. The project never came to be, but six years on, the dream to get the race track to become a reality remains, as Bernama reports.
The track will however need to be in another location. According to state executive councillor for youth, sports, and entrepreneurship, Najwan Halimi, the original proposal to develop the facility in Sungai Tua was derailed by the less than desirable findings of the project’s viability and environmental impact during the assessment as well as from the high costs involved.
He said that consultants had presented their findings based on a 16.2 ha area, in which only a 2.25 km-long racing circuit could be built. “This distance is insufficient for drag racing (400 metres in a straight-line) because the maximum straight line that can be constructed is only 340 metres, whereas the minimum approved length for safety standards is 600 metres,” he said.
He added that there was also a river flow in the study area, with the water ending up at Batu Dam. “If earthworks are carried out and it rains, it will affect the river’s water quality, impacting cleanliness and causing disruptions to the water supply,” he explained.
He said this at the Selangor State Legislative Assembly, in response to a question from Mohd Razali Saari (PN-Sungai Panjang), who wanted to know whether the state government had conducted any social and environmental impact studies on the proposed area for the motorsport racing circuit development in Selangor.
Najwan said that the state government remains committed to the project and is looking for a new location to build the dedicated circuit. The design of the planned Sungai Tua circuit, which would have had a seating capacity for 1,000 spectators, included facilities such as a paddock, cafeteria, surau and sales booths.
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