SEBERANG PERAI, Aug 14 — Penang’s main transit-oriented development, Penang Sentral, is set to open in December this year, 11 years after the project was launched.

The first phase of the seven-phased integrated development is a modern terminal facility for public and intercity buses and it is also connected to the Butterworth railway station and the Penang Ferry terminal.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who visited Penang Sentral today, said the opening of the new terminal will provide better facilities for public transport in the state.

"It will make travel in the northern region by public transport easily accessible,” he said.

Chow said the ferry and railway services needed to be improved next.

"The rail services frequency to Penang and northern region can be improved especially the commuter services from Butterworth to Kamunting or Butterworth to Alor Setar,” he said.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow speaks to the media during a visit to Penang Sentral in Butterworth August 14, 2018.

Chow said catamarans services will also be introduced to supplement the ferry services and Penang Sentral has already allocated a site to cater to that.

"The location for the catamaran was already identified in Penang Sentral,” he said.

The Penang Sentral project, undertaken by Penang Sentral Sdn Bhd under the Malaysian Resources Corporation Berhad (MCB), is located on 22.65 acres of land.

According to Chief Operating Officer Shireen Iqbal, the recently completed integrated hub for bus, rail and sea transportation services costs about RM230 million.

"There are a total seven phases for this overall project, phases two, three and four are for the hotel, retail mall, and office tower,” she said.

She said the gross development value for the whole project is at RM2.8 billion.

The five-storey terminal is expected to handle 2,000 to 3,000 passengers per day and once it is fully integrated, it could handle between 3,000 and 4,000 passengers daily.

The terminal consists of four storeys of car park space, 38 bays for buses and also 55 retail shops.

The whole Penang Sentral project is expected to complete by 2030 and it will also be a hub for future Light Rail Transit (LRT) services.

Chow said the building would also prove to be a good site to place the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC).

"I was told that the federal government had identified the old MPSP building for UTC but I don’t have any updated information on that, this place would be suitable for the UTC,” he said.

Chow said he will leave it to the federal government to decide on the location of the UTC.

Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow (third left) during a visit to Penang Sentral in Butterworth August 14, 2018.

Works on the Penang Sentral which started in 2007 was delayed many years due to land issues and construction works for the terminal only started in 2015.

Shireen said they are now running tests to ensure everything is smooth before the terminal is opened in December.