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Penang Development Corporation (map), or Perbadanan Pembangunan Pulau Pinang, commonly called PDC, is a self-funding statutory body set up by the Penang State Government. Its main objectives are to spearhead the socio-economic development of Penang, eradicate poverty, create employment opportunities and improve the quality of life of the people of Penang.
Established by the late Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu in 1971, PDC was instrumental in the development of new townships such as Bayan Baru (1975), Seberang Jaya (1976) and Bandar Cassia Batu Kawan (1994).
Penang Development Corporation (16 May, 2011)
© Timothy Tye using this photo
It was also under PDC that the state developed a number of industrial estates, among them the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone (1972, 970 acres, 200 factories), Mak Mandin Industrial Estate (251 acres, 54 factories), Seberang Jaya Industrial Estate (1972, 79 acres, 32 factories), Prai Industrial Park (1971, 2,308 acres, 243 factories), Bukit Tengah Industrial Park (1990, 793 acres, 74 factories) and Bukit Minyak Industrial Park (1988, 1,489 acres, 83 factories).
Apart from residential and industrial properties, the PDC also ventured into the construction of commercial properties, perhaps the most outstanding being Komtar. Other projects include Mayang Mall in Bayan Baru. It is also heavily involved in tourism-related projects, such as being a shareholder in Vistana Hotel, among others.
Amazingly however, PDC is not without a record of abandoned projects, particularly in the face of severe economic downturn. The most significant PDC abandoned project is Penang Jaya. The site is now taken over by The One Penang Cybercity, undertaken by the Ideal Group.
Although the Penang Development Corporation has been instrumental in transorming the island from a high-unemployment state to one of the most advanced in the country, it has also received numerous criticisms, particularly when it was helmed by former Chief Minister Tan Sri Koh Tsu Koon.
Among the criticisms of PDC, the most stinging was that PDC has become more interested in making money, and is focusing on building expensive houses which are out of reach of the average income earner in Penang. This perception, true or otherwise, has overshadowed the leadership of Tan Sri Koh, leading to frequent comparisons between the PDC under Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu and that of Tan Sri Koh, with all the credits remaining with Tun Dr Lim.
As the Chief Minister of Penang is usually the Chairman of PDC, it goes to be seen whether the present Chairman of the corporation, Lim Guan Eng, will be able to reverse the perception of PDC among the Penang public.
Visiting the Penang Development Corporation
Penang Development Corporation1 Pesiaran Mahsuri, Bandar Bayan Baru
11909 Bayan Lepas, Penang
Phone: 04 634 0111
Rapid Penang Bus 302, 303, 304, 305, 306, 307, 308, 401 and 705 pass through Jalan Mahsuri, near Pesiaran Mahsuri.
List of Organisations in Penang
  
   
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