Gurney Bay, Penang

Gurney Bay, Penang (23 February 2019)


Gurney Bay, is a waterfront area on the northern coast of George Town, Penang. Built on reclaimed land, it is in front of Gurney Drive. The area was originally named Gurney Wharf but renamed to Gurney Bay to better represent the location and concept, considering the original name was misleading, as the project was neither a wharf, a quay or a pier.

Gurney Bay occupies 24.28 hectares/60 acres of reclaimed land in the bay that was once known as Teluk Ayer Rajah. The area will have a seaside Food & Beverage precinct, water gardens, a 400-meter sandy beach and coastal groves. There will be a car park with above and underground parking with 1,500 parking bays. The development, stretching from Bagan Jermal to Pangkor Road, is intended to position Penang as a premier tourist destination. The development will be carried out in two phases, called Priority 1 and Priority 2.

Items to be completed under Priority 1 include a children's play area, skate park, viewing deck (south vantage point), public toilets, promenade, hawker stalls, retail areas, recreation park, hawker kiosks, open car park space, and water body (south) reclamation area. Priority 1 is expected to open to the public in July 2023.

Items to be completed under Priority 2 include a hawker centre, retail area, convenience stores, viewing deck (north), public toilets, kiosks for additional hawkers, multi-storey car park, open car park, water garden, surau, jetty for water taxis, manmade beach, broadwalk, refuse centre, and water body (north). Priority 2 is expected to be completed in 2025.

Gurney Bay is a Penang State Government public initiative to be undertaken by Tanjung Pinang Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Eastern & Oriental Berhad. The developer has engaged the services of GDP Architects for the overall masterplan, Grant Associates for landscaping, and Jerde for the retail F & B precinct.

Gurney Bay - what to see and do there

Cyclists at Gurney Bay, Penang (4 February 2024)


The esplanade at Gurney Bay (4 February 2024)


Children's climb-and-slide structure at Gurney Bay (4 February 2024)


Public toilet at Gurney Bay (4 February 2024)

Updates on Gurney Bay

3 July 2023
Buletin Mutiara reports that Phase One of Gurney Bay will open to the public in July 2023, said Jagdeep Singh Deo, chairman of the caretaker Penang Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee.

26 May 2023
Buletin Mutiara reports that the much anticipated Gurney Wharf has been officially renamed Gurney Bay. This follows criticism that the original name was not suitable, as the project is neither a wharf, a quay or a pier. The name Gurney Bay was chosen based on results of an online poll.

11 May 2023
Buletin Mutiara reports that Phase One of Gurney Wharf is expected to be completed and open to the public in July 2023.

14 February 2023
The Star reports that Phase One of Gurney Wharf is scheduled for completion in May 2023.

8 October 2022
Buletin Mutiara reports that Priority One of Gurney Wharf is expected to be completed in March 2023. Facilities under Priority One are a children's playground, skate park, viewing deck with south vantage point, public toilets, pedestrian promenade, traders' kiosks, recreational park, landscaped area and open space car parks. Construction works on Priority One and Priority Two are happening concurrently. The whole Gurney Wharf project is expected to be fully completed by 2025.

20 December, 2019
The Star reports that the local government will "reclaim two water bodies for an additional 5.9 hectares of land", meaning draining the Sungai Bagan Jermal basin and Teluk Ayer Rajah, to give a total of 53.05 hectares of reclaimed land, of which 30.1 hectares will be put aside as public space. Reclamation of that land is expected to commence in June 2020. Work on Gurney Wharf will start from the Pangkor Road end and work its way towards Bagan Jermal, with construction of public recreational space such as a promenade, skate park, children's playground, and so on. Planned will be a new hawker centre and pier for water taxi.

22 July, 2019
The Star reports that State Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said that the Penang State Government would tap into the expertise of both local and international consultants for the design and construction of a world-class park at Gurney Wharf. Tender for the design will be called by the end of the year.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2019/07/22/penang-govt-to-tap-into-the-best-for-gurney-wharf/

21 July, 2019
The New Straits Times reports that the ongoing Gurney Wharf reclamation project has been singled out as a good example of how the proposed Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project could be implemented.

8 May, 2019
The Star reports that Local Government Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo wants the government to consider Gurney Wharf as the location for the new state assembly building.
https://www.thestar.com.my/metro/metro-news/2019/05/08/gurney-wharf-sitefor-august-house/

8 January, 2019
Property Guru reports that Penang is to create a network of parks that are linked to waterfront amenities. 4 Oct, 2018
The Star reports that Penang is planning to transform Gurney Wharf into a must-see attraction, even better than initially planned.
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2018/10/04/a-wharf-better-than-just-world-class-penang-planning-to-transform-gurney-drive-into-a-mustsee-attrac/

25 February, 2016
StarMetro reports Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng saying that the cost of the reclamation for Gurney Wharf will be taken care by Eastern & Oriental Berhad, while the State Government will pay for the Gurney Wharf project itself, including cost of infrastructure, consultants and experts. The reclamation work alone is expected to cost RM1.07 billion. This reclamation is not only for the Gurney Wharf "Park On the Sea" project, but also includes that for Phase 2A of Seri Tanjung Pinang. Of the 54 hectares on the Gurney foreshore to be reclaimed, 24.28 hectares will be used for the Gurney Wharf project while the balance will be government reserve land. Mr Lim also states that the reclamation platform on the new coastline will be 5.5 meters high, which is higher than the height of the 2004 tsunami, which hit Gurney Drive at 4.2 meters.

Map of Proposed Gurney Wharf park and recreation precinct

Map of the proposed Gurney Wharf (24 February 2016)


Gurney Bay in the morning (22 February 2019)


Gurney Bay in the afternoon (23 February 2019)


The existing Gurney Drive
The existing Gurney Drive Casuarina Trees
The upcoming Gurney Expressway
Car Park *
Promenade with disabled-friendly ramps at 200-meter intervals
Entrance to Gurney Wharf parkland
Pedestrian Underpass beneath Gurney Expressway
Low-rise retail F & B outlets with rooftop viewing deck and public toilets
Public picnic area
Upper Promenade & Bicycle Lane
Lower Promenade
Sandy Beach
The Pier of Gurney Wharf
Mangrove Edge
Pedestrian Bridge to Seri Tanjung Pinang Phase 2
Low-rise retail waterfront F & B area
Future Government Use with Sub-basement car parking *
Pond and wetlands
Planted Storm Water Channel
Skate Park
Kiosk and Public Toilets
Children's Play Area
Government Reserve
Hawker Centre with Car Park below *

* There is a note of 1,500 parking bays, but I am not sure whether it is the sum total of all the various parking areas, or 1,500 bays at each area.

Gurney Wharf taking shape (15 October 2019)


Fencing walling up the reclamation work for Gurney Wharf (1 January 2017)


Gurney Drive reclamation, as seen from Sunrise Gurney (21 June 2017)

Credentials of the architectural firms engaged for Gurney Wharf

GDP Architects is a renowned Malaysian architecture firm which won the Aga Khan Award for Architecture (2005-2007) for their work on Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS. It also received awards in 2015 for 1Sentrum and Nu Sentral.
Grant Associates is a renowned landscape architecture firm in the United Kingdom. It is the architect involved in creating Gardens by the Bay in Singapore.
Jerde Partnership is a visionary architecture and urban planning firm with its headquarters in Los Angeles. Established in 1977, it was involved in various major urban projects including the 1984 Olympics, the Bellagio in Las Vegas, East Harlem City of Dreams, Dubai Festival Waterfront Centre and Roppongi Hills.

Grant Associates was involved in designing Gardens By The Bay in Singapore (1 August 2017)

Features of Gurney Wharf

One of the major features of Gurney Wharf is Water Gardens. This is a landscaped garden with various water features such as ponds and wetlands, providing the public an educational experience of water plants and habitat. The gardens will feature an innovative storm water filtration system.

Another feature of Gurney Wharf, according to the artist impression, are two pier protruding into the sea and a seafront recreation precinct right over the water. The entire breath of Gurney Wharf will be landscaped greenery, with a wide promenade finished with the distinctive wavy Portuguese pavement. A skate park is also included while Gurney Drive's casuarina trees are retained.

The Gurney Expressway, now under finalization, is expected to pass through the Gurney Wharf area. To ensure the safety of the public, a 2-kilometer anti-climb fencing will be erected from Gurney Drive to Pangkor Road. The fencing alone is projected to cost RM1.3 million. The public will continue to have access to Gurney Drive.

Geographic perspective of Gurney Wharf

Gurney Wharf is to be developed on the northern coastline of George Town. The area is a bay that curves from North Beach to Tanjong Tokong. The bay is known as Teluk Ayer Rajah. The coastal boulevard through the area, Gurney Drive, is a major shopping and food destination. Sungai Bagan Jermal empties into the bay, and will most likely be canalized into the storm water channel and wetlands. Slightly to the north is another river, Sungai Balik Batu, which has already been canalized and flows to meet Sungai Bagan Jermal. The rivers discharge into a coastal area of mudflats and coastal mangroves.

Historic perspective of Gurney Wharf

The Gurney Wharf area occupies part of Teluk Ayer Rajah, or "Bay of Kingly Waters", which was where arriving ships stopped over to replenish their water supply from the waterfall. There was a no longer extant estate named after the bay. A residential road through the inland area was also named after the bay. The last major coastal reclamation carried out in the area was completed in 1934, and it created Gurney Drive.

Government updates on Gurney Wharf

Iconic Gurney Wharf Concept Takes Off

Questions and Concerns over Gurney Wharf

1. Will the public be charged for entering the Gurney Wharf area?
If yes, then this is a sell out. I would not mind paying for dining at its F & B outlets, but all areas within Gurney Wharf should have free public access, just like Straits Quay. There should be places for different income levels, from high-end restaurants to hawker centres, so that the needs of all are catered.

2. Will it contribute or alleviate traffic congestion in Pulau Tikus?
If the upcoming Gurney Expressway can siphon the through traffic away from the neighbourhood roads, enabling smoother travel within Pulau Tikus, then the Gurney Expressway and Gurney Wharf development are welcomed. However, if the development of Gurney Wharf will hem in Pulau Tikus causing even greater bottlenecks, the project needs another review.

3. Will the new proposed Hawker Centre in front of Gurney Paragon alleviate traffic congestion on Gurney Drive?
The present Gurney Drive Hawker Centre is an eye sore and an embarrassment to Penangites. Many locals including myself, have shied away, finding the hawker food there over priced and not representative of the Penang hawker fare we loved. Tourists, particularly from other states, have also complained of being fleeced by unscrupulous hawkers. On top of that, it is a major source of traffic congestion along Gurney Drive.

The Gurney Drive Hawker Centre badly needs a makeover, to bring back the shine of great hawker food that has put Penang on the world map. If the relocation of the hawker centre to the proposed site across from Gurney Paragon, along with stricter monitoring of hawkers and enforcement controls, may provide us the world standard Penang food that we longed for, at reasonable prices, and at the same time create smoother traffic flow on Gurney Drive, I am all for this project.

Opinion and Conclusion over Gurney Wharf

On the whole, the Gurney Drive area badly needs a major facelift to bring it on par with other international waterfront destinations. In a highly competitive world, we cannot afford to lose out. The present Gurney Drive is aged; it offers no greenery; the promenade is not wide enough for recreational activities, there's nowhere to picnic without smelling exhaust fumes, or spacious enough to contain the amount of traffic converging on it. At the same time, with our increasing affluence, the people of Penang are now more sensitive of the environment, and want to enjoy recreation in proximity to nature.

The creation of the water gardens and wetlands are welcomed, as a means for channeling the flow of Sungai Bagan Jermal and Sungai Balik Batu, and the creation of a natural habitat for wildlife. It also offers the State Government an opportunity to showcase tropical wetland flora and fauna. Engaging Grant Associates, the landscape architecture firm that created Gardens by the Bay in Singapore, provides some comfort over the level of expertise being applied to this project.

Gurney Drive is Penang's most important promenade. It is near and dear to the hearts of the people. There is no room for error, no second chance. If the State Government screws this up, it can kiss itself goodbye.

With the Gurney Wharf project, the State Government has promised no high rise buildings along the coast line. Instead there will be open greenery for the public to enjoy. If everything is carried out according to plan, the materialization of this development will be a major plus point for the real estate lining Gurney Drive, as their seaview will not be blocked, but instead enhanced by the wider shorefront. In this case, the present State Government appears serious in demonstrating to the public that not all land reclamation turns into dense housing development. There should be ample space for public recreation, and Gurney Wharf is the State Government's vision of Penang's new playground.

Location Map of Gurney Wharf

"My Gurney Wharf" Public Exhibition

A public exhibit on Gurney Wharf is on at Komtar until 26 February, and will continue at Gurney Plaza from 27 February until 6 March, 2016. In my opinion, apart from the map of the proposal, the exhibition is a bit thin on information.

The Gurney Bay development (24 February 2016)


Water Gardens, Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)


Seaside Retail F&B, Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)


The Beach at Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)


Coastal Grove at Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)


The Waterfront at Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)


Modernizing the charm of yesteryear at Gurney Bay (24 February 2016)

#MyGURNEYWHARF

I wish for
A walk on the beach
A green space to play
A skateboard park.

I wish for
Hawker stalls
The soft sea breeze
A cycling path

I wish for
Wheelchair ramps
A pedestrian path
A public promenade

I wish for
A place to call home
To wow my guests
To make Penang known

This is my hope
My Gurney Bay.

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