A futuristic cable car service waits one the completion of the new cable car project in three years time.
It will involve a cost of RM245 million and offer 500 new job opportunities too.
Penang Chief Minister YAB Chow Kon Yeow who is also the chairman of the Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) made the announcement at a press conference in Komtar earlier today.
“I am delighted to announce that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Penang Hill cable car project has been awarded to Hartasuma Sdn Bhd.
“The call for the RFP to solicit the best proposal for the Penang Hill cable car service commenced on January, 13th, 2021, and the validity period was extended to Nov 30th, 2022 due to the pandemic and restricted movement control orders,” said Chow at the press conference.
He added that the project was awarded through Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer or a subset of the Joint Venture Partnership basis.
“Bidders with good project management, strong technical and financial capabilities, as well as expertise in cable car project construction were invited to participate in the said RFP.
“The estimated investment by the successful bidder is expected to be approximately RM245 million and the project is based on a 30-year concession period, following the open bidding.
“The project is expected to take three years to fully complete and be operational,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, is a homegrown pioneer in the local rail industry and has almost 30 years of experience in the entire range of project delivery from project management, international supply chain and logistics management, testing and commissioning protocols and project financing.
They have successfully delivered more than 400 rail cars to some of the largest public transport projects in Kuala Lumpur including the busiest urban route in Malaysia, the Kelana Jaya Line.
“They bring with them a management team who have operational experience in the MRT Line 1 and the highly successful Langkawi Cable Car.
“They were awarded the job based on their financial capacity, proposed cable car system provider, technical and operational capabilities, environmental protection measures and proposal at the time of bidding.
“With the new cable car in place, Penang will gain another iconic tourist attraction in addition to the existing funicular railway that serves residents and visitors at the Hill for almost 100 years.
“We hope it will help redistribute traffic particularly during the peak seasons, complementing the existing century status of the funicular service from the Air Itam area. Also, we hope this greener mode of transportation will further enhance the tourism experience and contribute to the socio-economic of the surrounding areas, which will offer approximately 500 job opportunities. We are anticipating to see further growth in the tourism sector as a whole, once the cable car is operational,” added Chow at the event.