Penang Invites Foreign Investors
SINGAPORE, June 30 (Bernama) — The Penang state government on Wednesday offered Singaporean and international investors an opportunity to participate in building and developing some of the island’s landmark projects and historical sites.
Top on the list is the high-end integrated development of a 24-hectare site in Bayan Mutiara, comprising prestigious offices, specialist medical facilities, commercial blocks, residential enclaves, retail and public spaces.
Another project is to build the 70,000 sq metres Penang International Convention Centre (PICC) in Bayan Baru, and upgrading of the existing Penang International Sports Arena (PISA) and Aquatic Centre nearby.
For historical sites, the state government wants the iconic, British Fort Cornwallis at the Esplanade, and the Crag Hotel on Penang Hill to be restored, refurbished, redeveloped and managed as unique and prestigious tourism products.
The request for proposals was made by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng during a press conference held on the sidelines of the ongoing World Cities Summit at the Singapore International Convention and Exhibition Centre here.
In addition, Lim also requested proposals to build and operate a gold and jewellery bazaar on a strip of 0.4 hectare land near Komtar, in a move to revitalise the area.
The plan is also to promote the city as a regional gold and jewellery centre.
Lim said the projects are in line with the strategy to unlock state assets and capitalise on the sizable heritage value, adding that, it was also to fulfil the desire of the electorate who wanted to see concrete developments taking place in the state under his leadership.
The Chief Minister also said the promotion of the projects is being made here, as he believed Singaporean investors can offer quality proposals and of international standard, looking at what has been undertaken in the republic.
Moreover, local investors are more familiar with the state as Singapore and Penang had an identical history, and the people shared a similar social and cultural background.
However, Lim said the five projects would be given to any investor who could offer the best proposal, regardless where they came from.
He said many Malaysian investors, especially government-linked companies (GLCs), had also shown strong interest in the projects.
Earlier, Wan Zailena Noordin, Managing Director of PDC Properties Sdn Bhd, which is coordinating the projects, said only companies with a minimum paid-up capital of between RM100,000 (US$31,000) to RM50 million (US$15 million) are eligible to participate in the respective projects.
The request for proposal documents for the Bayan Mutiara and the gold and jewellery bazaar projects, can be obtained from the Penang Development Corporation office, while documents for the PICC project is available via the Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang website at http://www.mppp.gov.my.
Documents for the Fort Cornwallis and Crag Hotel projects can also be obtained online at the state government website at http://www.penang.gov.my.
Category: Development
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