Penang expects to welcome tourists by third or fourth quarter of this year following the outbreak of Covid-19 pandemic.

Penang Tourism, Arts, Culture and Heritage Committee chairman Yeoh Soon Hin said despite Penang being a green zone state, the state is still working to rebuild the tourism industry.

“We can only accept tourist in the Q3 or Q4 of this year as we are in the planning to rebuild the industry. Now, we do all the strategies and planning for us to prepare for Q3 and Q4,” he said during an online forum titled “Next Normal for Business Events Penang – How Business Events Penang Will Charter Post-MCO World” here today.

Panellists for the conference include Penang Convention and Exhibition Bureau chief executive officer (CEO) Ashwin Gunasekeran, Malaysia Association of Hotels (MAH) Penang Chapter chairman Khoo Boo Lim, Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia (Ilam) honorary secretary Charles Teo and the event moderator, who is also Place Borneo CEO Mona Manap.

Yeoh said the state government is implementing the Penang Gradual Recovery Strategy (PGRS) with very strict standard operating procedures (SOP) to allow more businesses to begin their operations.

“We have to do it gradually. If we go too extreme on the industry, we will kill the people and if we get too extreme on health then we are jeopardizing the industry,” he said.

Meanwhile, for the hotel industry, Khoo said new SOP is currently in place for hoteliers with comprehensive guidelines for hoteliers to follow during this period.

“We came out with four main control measures for the hotel to follow when they start operation which are crowd management, queue management, sitting management and interaction management,” he said.

Khoo also urged the event organiser to review their SOP for holding hotel events in order to prevent large gathering.

Source: EdgeProp.my

Penangites will be able to dine in at all eateries in the state from Monday (May 18).

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (pic) confirmed this during his press conference via Facebook on Friday (May 15).

“This was decided at the state exco meeting on Wednesday (May 13).

“We have decided to allow dine-ins at all food and beverage premises in the state.

“The local authorities, together with the local government exco and state health department, will need to issue guidelines for this second phase in allowing dine-in services, ” Chow said.

According to him, Penang was now fully implementing the conditional movement control order (MCO) with this move, and all sectors of the economy that had been permitted to operate by the National Security Council (NSC) were now open for business.

Food and beverage outlets in shopping malls, hotels and fast food chains in Penang had already been allowed to open for dine-ins from Friday following an announcement by the state government on May 12.

Chow said he hoped everyone would adhere to the standard operating procedures (SOP) set by the local authorities as announced on May 13.

Source: TheStar.com.my

One of the first few developments proposed after the relaxing of MCO in Penang. This newly proposed residential development by Wismas Dayamas Sdn. Bhd. will be located along Jalan Teluk Kubar, approximately 2km away from Penang International Airport. Neighboring communities include Platinum III, D’zone Condominium, Saujana Heights Apartment, Emerald Residence, and the latest low-density development – Valencia Residence by Aman Setia Group.

This development comprises a 29-storey condominium building, featuring 820 residential units with multi-storey carpark.

The project is still pending for approval. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location : Teluk Kumbar
Property Type : Condominium
Total Units : 820
Land Tenure : (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer: Wisma Dayamas Sdn. Bhd.

Location Map:

IJM Land Bhd will restart work on the stalled RM4.5bil The Light City project, which is located next to the Penang Bridge, in August.

IJM Perennial Development Sdn Bhd general manager Tan Hun Beng said the construction work was supposed to start in April.

IJM Perennial is a joint-venture company between IJM Corp Bhd and Singapore-based Perennial Real Estate Holdings Ltd to oversee the project.

“But because of the movement control order (MCO), we have to postpone it to August, ” Tan added.

According to Tan, the details of the contract for the project are now being finalised.

“The contract should be awarded in July to the group’s construction subsidiary, Jurutama Sdn Bhd.

“The time is right to start the project because the drop in fuel price will lower the construction cost, ” he said.

Tan added that the project, scheduled for completion within a four-year period, might take longer because of the new SOPs that needed to be adhered to in light of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Last December, IJM Perennial signed with OCBC Bank Bhd, RHB Bank Bhd, CIMB Bank Bhd and MALAYAN BANKING BHD for a loan facility of over RM1bil to finance the project.

Initially, IJM Land had planned to start work on The Light City in 2018, but given the property market slowdown, the group held back the implementation of the project to revise the plan.

“We made revisions so that the project could be launched in two phases, according to the pace of market demand.

“The new plan can now accommodate more food and beverage outlets and possibly, an experiential themed park in phase two, ” Tan said.

In the revised plan, the first phase will have a mall with a 680,000-sq-ft net lettable area, the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre, a four-star hotel with 500 rooms, offices and the Mezzo residential condominiums.

The second phase will have a 300,000-sq-ft mall, a five-star hotel with 250 rooms, offices and the Essence residential condominiums.

“The work on the first phase should create some 1,000 jobs for the local construction industry.

“The first phase is scheduled for completion in 2024, ” Tan said.

Tan said the sales of the Mezzo condominiums and the occupancy of the mall would determine the commencement of the second phase.

“If the response to the condominium and the mall is good, we will start the second phase as soon as possible, ” said Tan.

“The retail mall and the hotel business would be well supported by the convention centre, which is expected to bring in the crowds.

“The meeting, incentive, convention and exhibition market will drive the demand for the convention centre space.

“Our location is well-centralised around the airport, free industrial zone, George Town city and the mainland. This is also an added advantage, ” he added.

IJM is one of Malaysia’s leading conglomerates with businesses in construction, property, plantations, industry and infrastructure. It has operations in 10 countries, with the primary focus on Malaysia, India, the United Arab Emirates, China and Indonesia.

Perennial is an integrated real estate and healthcare company headquartered and listed in Singapore.

As a real estate owner, developer and manager, Perennial focuses strategically on large-scale, mixed-use developments.

It has operations in China, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Myanmar and Ghana with a combined portfolio spanning over 65 million sq ft.

Source: TheStar.com.my

The Penang Security Special Commitee (JKKN) has allowed food and beverage outlets to provide dine-ins in stages.

Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the first phase would start on May 15 (Friday).

“The Penang JKKN only allows food outlets located in the hotel, supermarket and fast food franchise to provide dine-ins from May 15 onwards.

“The details pertaining to the standard operating procedure (SOP) will be announced tomorrow (May 13) by both city councils namely the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP).

“A comprehensive study for phase two, involving food outlets in other categories, will be done under the advice of the state Health Department. Those outlets are not allowed to provide dine-ins for now,” Chow told the public via Facebook Live on his Facebook page today.

Chow also said that the Penang government together with the Federal and state agencies would refine the SOP implementation process with regard to the Covid-19 screening test for construction site workers and the manufacturing sector.

He said he would provide more details soon.

“Meanwhile, the Penang government will follow the same guidelines and SOP as the Federal Government pertaining to congregational prayers in the mosque and surau. The announcement and SOP will be announced soon by the Federal Government.

“The same SOP will be applied to other religions, as well for any religious activity in their places of worship.

“Apart from that, the state government urges Penangites who live in flats to limit the number of guests to not more than seven during the upcoming Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration.

“This is according to the advice from Health Ministry director-general Datuk Dr Noor Hisham Abdullah to curb the spread of Covid-19,” Chow added.

According to Chow, public places such as Penang City Park, Metropolitan Park, Penang Botanic Gardens on the Penang island; Vision Park, Mengkuang Dam, Kamloon Beach, Air Hitam Dalam Educational Park, Cerok Tokun Tropical Forest, Panchor Hill Tropical Forest and Bukit Juru Forest Reserve in Seberang Perai would remain close.

“Meanwhile, recreational activities are limited to neighbourhood parks and pocket parks in residential areas only,” he said.

Chow said although Penang is already classified as a ‘green state’ with no new reported cases of Covid-19 for the past three weeks, the state government has continuously carried out the Covid-19 screening test on targeted groups.

“These include high-risk groups such as the madrasah and tahfiz (religious) schools, foreigners, special care centres for senior citizens, caretakers and market workers with supervision in 35 markets across the state.

“Until today, all the test results were negative. We are grateful for that,” he said.

According to Chow, the state government had also announced the Penang Next Normal Strategies at the beginning of movement control order (MCO) Phase Three.

He said the Penang Next Normal Strategies has four main missions which are to contain the pandemic, allow institutions to adapt to the next normal, rescue people and the economy and empower the community.

“Thus, each department and state agency must plan their next action based on these strategies.

“I am confident that with the ‘Penang Next Normal Strategies’, our state will be able to quickly rise again from the aftermath of the Covid-19 outbreak.

“Our recovery strategies will work only if we cooperate and remain united. Let us care for one another and rebuild our state again,” he added.

At the end of his speech, Chow encouraged all Penangites to stay strong, be patient and continue to practise preventive measures to curb the spread of Covid-19 while adapting to the new norms.

Source: Buletin Mutiara