THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF SUNWAY CARNIVAL MALL EXPANSION

SPEECH BY CHEIF MINISTER OF PENANG
AT THE GROUND BREAKING CEREMONY OF SUNWAY CARNIVAL MALL EXPANSION

3rd MARCH 2018 10.30AM

 

Members of the media and distinguished guests.

The groundbreaking of Sunway Carnival Mall phase 2 marks another milestone for Sunway Group in Penang. It has been part of the Penang community and economic activity for the past 25 years since 1992.

Opened since 2007, the four-storey Sunway Carnival Mall is one of Seberang Perai’s largest and well-maintained malls with the potential to serve as tourist shopping destination. With an addition of seven-level expansion wing, which will include new retailers, restaurants, a vanity hall, bowling centre, car park and more, public can look forward to see more space and lifestyle offerings added.

The estimated total development cost for Sunway Carnival Mall expansion is RM500 million which encompasses the addition of a new wing and refurbishment of the existing wing over the next few years. New job creation is estimated to be 1,500 jobs. With Sunway’s new expansion coming up, there will be more shops opening for business. That means more job opportunities for Penangites!

This expansion project is also in line with the state initiative to promote Seberang Perai as a shopping and tourism destination. Sunway will be expanding its portfolio in Penang phase by phase; consisting of residential, commercial, retail, education and healthcare components in which all of their projects are planned in environmentally and socially sustainable manner that can provide a large range of development benefits to local communities. Making quality healthcare and higher education accessible and affordable to the local community.

In Penang, we could see tourism wields tremendous economic positive outcomes. Tourists and holidaymakers are flocking to the state to sample street hawker fare and local fruits, sightseeing and doing their shopping here; making Penang the best holiday destination.

Passengers traffic (departure and arrival) at the Penang International Airport (PIA) hit an all time high of 7.2 million passengers last year, an increase of 8% comparing to just 6.6 million passengers in 2016. This has exceeded the airport’s maximum capacity of 6.5 million, the number projected to reach in year 2020. Finally Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said he would he would expand PIA as he announced last year in the 2018 Budget to increase the passenger capacity from 6.5 million passengers to 12 million passengers a year. The expansion plan is to cost RM700 million. This is important as PIA has brought positive economy impact to the state and the country, by being the Top 3 busiest airports in the country despite its small size.

Since 6 February, international airline Qatar Airways, started its long haul flight to PIA, connecting Penang and Doha. Qatar Airways is flying three times a week between Doha and Penang with its state-of-the-art Boeing 787 Dreamliner. From 1 July 2018 onawards, the flight frequency will be increased 3 times weekly to 4 times weekly.

This just shows that Penang is cun! Which makes us decided to have Penang Cun, or Penang Gorgeous, the tagline line for Penang tourism this year.

We certainly anticipate to continue to see Sunway Group serving the community in the years forward through their healthcare and education divisions in tandem with Penang’s growth which will enrich the lives of our communities.

Thank you.