Penang Sky Cab

Penang Sky Cab is a planned cable-car service linking George Town to Butterworth. The service will cover a distance of 3 kilometers across the Penang Channel, between Noordin Street Ghaut in George Town and Penang Sentral in Butterworth. Cable-car stations will be constructed at both ends.

The Penang Sky Cab cable cars will be 90 meters above the sea, supported by eight or nine piers, each spaced about 50 meters apart. According to Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, the service is expected to be operational in three years, and will provide an alternative means of crossing the channel. He said that a journey will take about 15 minutes, and that the system can carry up to 1,000 passengers per hour.

"With the implementation (of Penang Sky Cab)," said Mr Lim, "Penang Sentral will become a 5-in-1 travel hub offering taxi, bus, rail, ferry and Sky Cab service."

Updates on the Penang Sky Cab

7 January, 2019
The Malay Mail Online reports that the proposed Penang Sky Cab will now be re-aligned to connect Butterworth with the George Town World Heritage Site. According to Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, the sky cab terminal in George Town has now been propsed to be next to the ferry terminal.

18 August, 2018
Malay Mail reported Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow saying that the proposed Penang Sky Cab project is still in the works. Penang Sentral has already obtained approval for its detailed environment impact assessment (DEIA). The port of landing may be adjusted from the original plan and the alignment may be changed so that it is closer to the inner city of George Town.

The first phase of the Sky Cab project will see 40 gondolas transporting a total of 1,000 passengers either way per hour.

11 March, 2016
The Star reports Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as saying that the proposed cable car spanning the Penang Channel will cross the Middle Bank but the footprints of the cable pylons and towers will be small and will have low impact on the environment. He said that engineers are working to avoid disturbing areas of the seagrass bed where marine life is at its densest. The project is expected to be completed between 2018 and 2019.

30 January, 2016
The Star reports marine biologist Prof. Zulfigar Yasin warning that anything constructed at sea would change the water flow and could result in the Middle Bank being irrevesibly washed away. 29 January, 2016
The Star reports a possible major realignment to the path of the Penang Sky Cab. Instead of terminating at Noordin Street Ghaut, the Sky Cab is now planned to terminate at the Jelutong Landfill. The rationale for this is because the area around Noordin Street Ghaut is determined to be unable to cope with the expected swell in traffic. The realignment will also bring the Sky Cab over the Middle Bank, a submarine bank of seagrass and fish-breeding ground, enabling passengers to be able to view and appreciate the Middle Bank at low tide. The issue, however, is whether construction for the Penang Sky Cab will affect and damage the Middle Bank.

28 May, 2015
The Star reports (Sky Cab project will not involve land swap) the Penang Chief Minister reiterating his assurance that there would only be "very minial" land reclamation for the Penang Sky Cab project, and the reclamation involved is only for the car park and the integrated public transport station.

According to him, the project does not involve any land swap. The Chief Minister further said that Penang Sentral would spend RM5 million to carry out preliminary works and feasibility studies, and that divers are conducting sound tests on the seabed. The entire project is expected to cost between RM250 million and RM300 million.

Location of Penang Sky Cab on map

Regretful Statements by Penang Tourism Industry Players with regards the Penang Sky Cab project

I am disappointed with the statements by key players in the local tourism industry with regards Penang Sky Cab project. Instead of using their position to help promote the industry in this increasingly competitive environment, and in particular help the tourism industry on Penang Mainland, they have instead issued unsubstantiated opinion.

Khoo Boo Lim, chairman of the Malaysian Association of Hotels Penang, as quoted in The Star of 20 April, 2015, had this to day, "But tourism has always been island-centric while Butterworth is more of an industrial and logistics hub."

This is a most regretful remark, coming from an industry player, who should be using his position to promote tourism on Penang Mainland rather than becoming its stumbling block. Mr Khoo should tell the hotels on Penang Mainland (for example, Aroma Hotel, De Garden Butterworth, Pearl View, etc), that their well being don't matter to him and that the project won't do them any good.

Datuk Lim Mee Lee, chairman of the Penang Hoteliers Association and the Malaysian Budget Hotel Association Penang Chapter, as quoted by The Star on 17 April, 2015, said, "It is a good project but tourists would prefer to tour the island instead of Butterworth."

This is an unsubstantiated remark based on present situation. And by holding such a mentality, we are stuck in a Catch 21 situation. Why would tourists want to tour Butterworth when we don't offer them a reason to tour Butterworth? Before issuing such a remark, one should first do a survey to determine what are tourists preferences and what tourists think of such a project. I am glad that Datuk Lim does think it to be a good project though.

Miss Chin Poh Chin, president of the Penang Tourist Guides Association, was quoted by The Star on 20 April, 2015, as saying, "Everyone would want to try it once. But foreigners will not be interested. Cable cars are nothing new to them."

This is putting words into people's mouths. How do we know that the foreigners would not be interested in approaching George Town from the sky, and be able to get a bird's eye view of the World Heritage Site? Has a survey been done to ascertain foreigners' view (not one or two foreign friends, but at least a few thousand foreigners who are strangers) whether they regard this as a good idea? If not, this is simply unsubstantiated opinion.

I agree with Penang Citizens Chant Group to "show the people how they are going to be affected by these projects and tell them without hiding anything." I am fully supportive of transparency.

Fortunately, there are prominent figures within various industries in Penang whose outlook regards Penang as a whole, and not just Penang Island. These people articulated the benefit that Penang Mainland stand to gain from the project.

Ch'ng Huck Theng, chairman of the Association of Tourism Attractions, was quoted in The Star on 20 April, 2015, as saying, "It will boost our image and help spread tourism revenue to Butterworth but tourism in Penang is being affected by traffic jams."

I am glad that Mr Ch'ng does give some thought to boosting the image of local tourism and helping spread tourism revenue to Butterworth. He however stressed that the state government should give priority to solving traffic congestion on the island. I do believe the Penang Sky Cab is one of many approaches the government is taking to reduce congestion, as mentioned with the Penang LRT project the week before.

Heng Huck Lee, president of the Free Industrial Zone Penang Companies' Association, said (The Star, 17 Apr) that the Sky Cab would serve the needs of both the locals and [the] tourists.

Datuk Jerry Chan, chairman of the Real Estate And Housing Developers' Association Penang, also express support (The Star 17 Apr), saying, "Anything that increases mobility will definitely help".

Datuk Finn Choon, president of Penang Chinese Chamber of Commerce, said (The Star, 17 Apr), "It will also increase the number of tourists going over to the mainland for food and sightseeing, encouraging a more even growth distribution for the whole of Penang."

K. Koris Atan, president of the Penang Consumer Protection Association, also supported the project (The Star, 20 Apr) as an alternative transportation mode.

Of those who are not using their position to edify Penang as a whole, I urge them to discard their island centric mentality. Again and again I have told people, Penang is not just Penang Island, it is Penang Mainland too. Spend some sleepless nights thinking of how you can help the tourism industry on Penang Mainland. If the Chief Minister or someone else come up with ideas for tourism products, find means to support it rather than shoot it down.

In order for Penang to remain competitive in an increasingly challenging world, there is no room for seedless durians. Would there be a London Eye or Marina Bay Sands if the leaders there choose to listen to the naysayers?

But what if the Penang Sky Cab should fall from the sky?
It was the Chief Minister's idea, so let him be responsible for it. And if the project becomes successful, let him take the credit. In this world, there is no room for Chicken Littles.

But what if the Penang Sky Cab project should fail and its investors lose money?
If it fails, it fails. It is after all their money. It is not for us to play mader and fader to grown ups.

References

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