GEORGE TOWN: Penang has invited experienced companies to co-develop an industrial park in Batu Kawan, which was previously mired in controversy, through an open tender.

Chief minister Chow Kon Yeow said the Batu Kawan Industrial Park Phase 2 (BKIP 2) project will now be jointly developed by the Penang Development Corporation (PDC) and the private company that wins the request for proposal exercise.

PDC had sold the Byram land to Umech Land Sdn Bhd through a direct deal but the agreement was scrapped last October after the company was taken over by property developer Sunway Group.

Sunway had emerged as a majority shareholder (70%) in Umech Land via its wholly-owned subsidiary, Sunway Bukit Gambier Sdn Bhd.

In November, Chow told the Penang assembly that the same parties were welcome to join an open tender if they wished.

At a press conference today, Chow said the BKIP 2 project involves state land covering 226ha in Byram, Batu Kawan, with a pre-qualification tender that ends on March 21.

He said the land was acquired from private owners and did not involve any land owned by Sime Darby Plantation Bhd.

“We want to accelerate the availability of industrial land to potential investors to ensure Penang remains competitive,” he told reporters here.

PDC confirmed to FMT that this is the same piece of land that was previously sold to Umech Land.

Separately, Chow said three other industrial parks are being developed by PDC, namely Bandar Cassia Technology Park (154ha), Batu Kawan Industrial Park 3 (251ha), and Penang Science Park South (70ha).

These projects involve a total investment valued at RM3.2 billion.

According to Chow, work on these new industrial parks had been ongoing since 2022 and was expected to be completed by 2031.