BUTTERWORTH, Nov 19 — Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) expects to introduce a retail shopping mall at Penang Sentral, an integrated northern region transportation hub project, by 2020.
Chief Operating Officer of MRCB Properties, Shireen Iqbal Mohamed Iqbal, said the total gross development value (GDV) of the whole Penang Sentral project is RM2.9 billion and phase two of the shopping mall project has begun.
She said work on the mall is currently on-going and the first part of the pilling work on phase two has just completed.
“After more than 10 years of waiting, the Penang Sentral project has finally completed and it will begin operation next Thursday while work on phase two, which is the retail shopping, is currently progressing well,” she told reporters after a media walkabout here today.
She said the mall, with over 400,000 square feet of retail space, will bring a fresh shopping experience to Butterworth residents and be a catalyst for the whole Penang Sentral project.
“We expect the retail mall to be completed by 2020 depending on how fast the construction can go on without jeopardising public safety,” she said.
Penang Sentral is an integrated transportation hub connecting Keretapi Tanah Melayu’s Electric Train Service (ETS) and Komuter train services, intercity, express and stage bus services, taxi and ferry services.
Executive Vice President of MRCB Datuk Dell Akhbar Khan Hyder Khan said the transportation system is currently undergoing testing, commissioning and integration with all the bus services before being opened to the public.
He said the transportation hub can take 3,000 to 4,000 passengers daily.
“We are confident that this transportation hub will not only contribute towards making life easier for commuters but will also provide a significant boost to the state’s economy, acting as a catalyst for future development within its vicinity and the northern region,” he said.
Penang Sentral is designed as the main transport-oriented development (TOD) for Penang, Greater George Town and the Northern Corridor.
Modelled after the KL Sentral central business district (CBD) in Kuala Lumpur, the first phase of Penang Sentral will serve as the terminal for both public and intercity buses and is physically connected to the adjacent Butterworth railway station and the Penang ferry terminal.
It is an integrated hub for bus, rail, taxi and sea transportation services in Penang with a land area over 9 hectares.
Future phases of the project include commercial, retail, office and residential developments. — Bernama
