S P Setia breaks ground on 509-acre Setia Fontaines Industrial Park in Penang, seals green energy and affordable housing deals

KUALA LUMPUR (June 22): S P Setia Bhd broke ground on its 509-acre Setia Fontaines Industrial Park in Bertam, Kepala Batas in Penang on June 20, in a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow.

The event also saw the signing of two separate agreements — one on green energy supply and another on affordable housing — underscoring the development's scope beyond conventional industrial land.

According to a media statement by S P Setia, the industrial park forms part of the larger 1,691-acre freehold Setia Fontaines township and offers light industrial, medium industrial and commercial lots. The product mix is designed to accommodate occupiers across a wide scale, from small and medium enterprises to larger industrial and commercial operators.

The site provides direct access to the North-South Expressway and sits within reach of Penang Island, Bukit Mertajam, Seberang Jaya and Kulim.

On the sustainability front, Setia Fontaines inked a Memorandum of Collaboration with the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority (NCIA) to explore the supply of green electricity to the park and its tenants. The arrangement will be structured under a Corporate Renewable Energy Supply Scheme (CRESS), through which park occupiers would access green electricity via the national grid sourced from regional renewable energy developers. The mechanism sits within NCIA's Special Renewable Energy Economy Zone (SREEZ) framework under the Northern Corridor Economic Region (NCER).

Separately, Setia Fontaines and Lembaga Perumahan Negeri Pulau Pinang (LPNPP) exchanged a Memorandum of Agreement for Pangsapuri Pinang Setia, a block of 640 affordable homes targeted for completion in 2029.

Each unit measures 650 sq ft with three bedrooms and two bathrooms, priced at RM42,000. Residents of the scheme will have access to the broader Setia Fontaines amenity base, which includes 37 acres of central parks and 63 acres of manmade lakes.

The project sits in proximity to several tertiary institutions including Universiti Sains Malaysia, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Maktab Rendah Sains Mara and Kolej Matrikulasi Penang.

S P Setia president and chief executive officer Datuk Zaini Yusoff framed the industrial park as a strategic national play, not merely a property development. "The groundbreaking of Setia Fontaines Industrial Park is a landmark moment for S P Setia and a strong signal of our confidence in Penang's future. More than an industrial development, it reflects our vision to build a next-generation economic hub with world-class infrastructure for advanced manufacturing, digital infrastructure and high-technology industries in the Northern Region," he said.

"This development reflects Setia's capacity to translate national aspirations into tangible outcomes on the ground. Setia Fontaines Industrial Park is designed to support innovation-led growth, strengthen industrial competitiveness and create broader economic participation across the value chain. From SMEs to multinational corporations, this development opens up meaningful opportunities for businesses to grow within a sustainable, future-ready ecosystem," added Zaini.

"Our collaboration with S P Setia positions Setia Fontaines Industrial Park as an anchor green consumer, strengthening demand certainty and project viability. This enhances NCER's attractiveness as a hub for sustainable industrial growth and supports the attraction of investments requiring low-carbon energy solutions," said from NCIA chief executive Datuk Mohamad Haris Kader Sultan.

Anwar toured the township's 100-acre Heritage Park, which houses what Setia describes as the largest Musical Fountain in northern Malaysia, alongside interconnected islands with jogging and cycling tracks and a Waterfront Lifestyle Centre.

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