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Government-linked corporation Sime Darby and the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop Changkat and Byram in Nibong Tebal, southern Seberang Prai, Penang.
The Byram and Changkat development is set to transform the old agriculture district into a premier SME (small medium enterprise) high-tech industrial park.
Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the collaboration was the state government’s promotion of industrial development and the SME sector.
Penang’s economy is largely being driven by the manufacturing sector.
“The investment by Sime Darby into the Sime Darby SME High-Tech Park will see an estimated gross development value of about RM1.8 billion.
“Sime Darby has promised that it will be affordable to encourage the SME sector,” he said at a press conference today before the MoU was signed.
Lim, who is the PDC chairman, said the state’s investment promotion agency investPenang will be promoting the development and screening interested companies for the new high-tech industrial park.
He said the deal came about when the PDC, the state government’s investment arm, earlier reviewed Sime Darby’s application to rezone 926.8 acres of agriculture land in Byram Estate to industrial land.
As the rezoning involved land affected by the PDC’s acquisition for industry and mixed development, they decided to develop the land jointly, he said.
As a result, Sime Darby will develop the 926.8 acre land for SME industries, while the PDC will develop heavy, moderate, light industry, small and medium industry, and mixed development on 4017.4 acres.
“The PDC has agreed to withdraw its acquisition with the signing of the MoU.
“The PDC and Sime Darby have also agreed that the latter will bear all costs connected with the withdrawal of the land acquisition,” he said, adding that each party had formulated a master plan that was mutually agreed upon.
Under the master plan, both parties will share costs for the building of main infrastructure facilities such as roads, bridges, sewerage, water tanks, utilities, drainage, earthworks, and the environmental and traffic impact assessments.
Sime Darby Berhad president and group chief executive Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salleh said they had long realised the potential of Seberang Prai Selatan as a major industrial area and was confident of the growth of the area in the next eight years.
He said it was a blessing that the Penang government and the PDC also shared the same vision as Sime Darby in developing Byram and Changkat.
“We are honoured to be part of the collaboration.
“This development will have a positive spill-over effect for the area and other sectors of the economy, including housing, hospitality and the job market, that will benefit Penang as a whole,” he said.
Penang has been recording steady investment growth over the past seven years.
Last year, the state saw a 109% jump from RM3.9 billion in 2013 to RM8.2 billion.
The state’s focus on industry as a growth engine has in recent years also shifted to the mainland from Bayan Lepas on the island, with multinationals signing up for new plants in Batu Kawan, another major development area in Seberang Prai.
