PETALING JAYA: Ideal United Bintang International Bhd’s wholly owned sub-subsidiary, Solaris Consortium Sdn Bhd has entered into a memorandum of understanding with Penang Port Commission (PPC) for the redevelopment of the Swettenham Pier Cruise Terminal (pix) in Penang.
According to the group’s Bursa filing, the project will be done on a built-operate-transfer basis on PPC’s 2.38 acres of land.
The project entails the redesigning and refurbishment of three buildings, namely Godown 5, Godown 7 and Godown 8 that were built in the early 1900s, and the restoration work will be conducted in accordance with heritage guidelines.
Ideal will refurbish and convert the three buildings into a seafront tourist spot lifestyle destination, including duty-free shops, F&B outlets, homegrown brands offerings, local made products and gift shops.
“This additional retail will complement 1st Avenue Mall as retail can cross sell each other’s location.”
Ideal said the refurbishment of the buildings will be done in three phases and that the first phase is expected to be completed by 2021, while the remaining Phase 2 and Phase 3 will be completed in 2022.
Upon completion, the project will result in a total lettable area of 60,900 square feet and the expansion will allow the terminal to cater up to 1.7 million passengers a year and up to 12,000 passengers at any one time.
Due to the strategic location and tourist inflows, Ideal expects the project to be profitable within three years and contribute positively to its earnings and revenue.
The pier currently serves as a cruise shipping terminal with Royal Caribbean International making the pier as the mother port for its Asian operation.
Last year, it registered about 500,000 passengers, an increase of 27.1% compared to 2018.
At the midday break, Ideal’s share price was down 3 sen to RM1.82 on 200 shares done.
