Better Infrastructures Vital To Attract More Visitors To Penang -- Penang Chief Minister

GEORGE TOWN (Penang, Malaysia) March 28 (Bernama) -- Improvements to the existing infrastructures in Penang will remain pivotal in order to make the state continue to become an attraction to international and domestic visitors, Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said Wednesday night. He said Penang’s rich heritage and strong cultural presence had already been part and parcel of the state’s appeal to the outside world but sufficient infrastructure is also vitally important to support the growing number of people coming in. “In this regard, the government and the Malaysian Airport Holdings Bhd have agreed to the expansion of the Penang International Airport, which would nearly double the airport’s capacity to 12 million passengers a year, scheduled to start work in June 2020 and to be completed in three years’ time,” he said when speaking at the first anniversary celebration of DoubleTree Resort by Hilton in Penang here. According to him, the airport currently had surpassed its maximum capacity of handling 6.5 million passengers per year and had recorded 7.78 million passengers last year. He said the State Government also welcomed the development of new hotels in the state which would also complement the effort to accommodate the growing number of tourists to Penang. Chow said Cornerstone Partners Group being the company who brought in DoubleTree Resort to Penang had invested over RM200 million to acquire the property here and reflected their confidence with the potentials in the State. “This (confidence) is vital and necessary contribution to the industry and helps to position Penang as a major destination on the global tourist map,” he added. Meanwhile, Cornerstone Partners chief executive officer, Jason Chong said it took them about 21 months to renovate a hotel building at Batu Ferringhi here and another six months to get the Hilton DoubleTree’s brand. Apart from the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton here, he said the company also owned the citizenM Kuala Lumpur Hotel which would start operating on May 1 and Kimpton Da An Hotel Taipei in Taiwan. “Another four properties are currently being developed, comprising a resort in Pahang, a hotel in Melbourne (Australia), an urban resort in Kuala Lumpur and a resort in southern Taiwan,” he added. -- BERNAMA