The Penang State Government has unveiled plans for the establishment of its own Integrated Circuit (IC) Design and Digital Park which will offer a total of 1 million square feet of premium office space (including existing Innoplex building within the area.
This also comes after Selangor announced its “Malaysia Semiconductor Accelerator & IC Design Park” that will position Malaysia as a potential powerhouse in the global IC Design Industry. However, this news riled up former Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng who said Penang had missed the opportunity due to being slow to react.
Penang CM Chow Kon Yeow refuted the missed opportunity claim saying the state is already well established in the IC space and continues to attract multi-nationals.
The latest unveiling is seen to either satisfy the former CM or fear of Selangor’s rise in semiconductor industry, but Penang is not taking chances and wants to be the preferred investment destination for businesses and entrepreneurs in these sectors.
The park it said specifically catered to house high-impact activities including IC Design, R&D, Global Business Services (GBS), digital technologies investments, and a circular digital economy ecosystem.
Encompassing 105-acre in the Bayan Lepas Industrial Park, the project consists of two phases. The first phase involves the on-going construction of two pioneering office buildings, GBS By The Sea and GBS TechSpace, with 350,000 square feet of premium office space at a total cost of RM347 million. Equipped with high-spec building features, top-notch engineering lab facilities, and parking accommodations for up to 1,000 vehicles, the first phase is scheduled to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2024.
The second phase of the park involves an establishment of an additional building named GBS@TechnoPlex which will cost approximately RM308 million and provide an additional 500,000 square feet to the project by 2027.
The State is also formulating an incentive package to strategic investors who are interested in further enhancing and complementing the park. Such incentives are intended to support Penang’s existing ecosystem and investment attractiveness within the nation and globally.
