PENANG HILL CABLE CAR PROJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AWARDED
SPEECH BY YAB TUAN CHOW KON YEOW,
THE CHIEF MINISTER OF PENANG cum
chairman of penang hill corporation
PENANG HILL CABLE CAR PROJECT: REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL (RFP) AWARDED
14 DECEMBER 2022
Good afternoon and thank you all for joining us in today’s press conference.
As the chairman of Penang Hill Corporation (PHC), I am delighted to announce that the Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Penang Hill cable car project has been awarded to Hartasuma Sdn Bhd.
As many of us are aware, the call for the RFP to solicit the best proposal for the Penang Hill cable car service commenced on 13th January 2021, and the validity period was extended to 30th November 2022 due to the pandemic and restricted movement control orders. The project is awarded through Public Private Partnership (PPP) on Design, Finance, Build, Operate and Transfer or a sub-set of the Joint Venture Partnership basis. Bidders with good project management, strong technical and financial capabilities, as well as expertise in cable car project construction were invited to participate in the said RFP.
The Evaluation Committee, from various government agencies, assessed the RFP proposals in accordance with the requirements stipulated in the RFP document. Hartasuma Sdn Bhd was recommended by the Evaluation Committee and was approved by the Penang State Government tender board. The estimated investment by the successful bidder is expected to be approximately RM245 million and the project is based on a 30-year concession period, following the open bidding.
The alignment and the suitability of the location of the cable car project were taken into consideration by the Evaluation Committee, with most feasible route alignment site near the Penang Botanic Gardens. The project is expected to take three years to fully complete and be operational.
The successful bidder, Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, is a homegrown pioneer in the local rail industry and has almost 30 years of experience in the entire range of project delivery from project management, international supply chain and logistics management, testing and commissioning protocols and project financing.
They have successfully delivered more than 400 rail cars to some of the largest public transport projects in Kuala Lumpur including the busiest urban route in Malaysia, the Kelana Jaya Line. They bring with them a management team who have operational experience in the MRT Line 1 and the highly successful Langkawi Cable Car.
They were awarded the job based on their financial capacity, proposed cable car system provider, technical and operational capabilities, environmental protection measures and proposal at the time of bidding.
Ladies and gentlemen,
With the new cable car in place, Penang will gain another iconic tourist attraction in addition to the existing funicular railway that serves residents and visitors at the Hill for almost 100 years.
We hope it will help redistribute traffic particularly during the peak seasons, complementing the existing century status of the funicular service from the Air Itam area. Also, we hope this greener mode of transportation will further enhance the tourism experience and contribute to the socio-economic of the surrounding areas, which will offer approximately 500 job opportunities. We are anticipating to see further growth in the tourism sector as a whole, once the cable car is operational.
With an annual visitor population of more than 1.3 to 1.8 million, we hope the cable car will play a practical role in tourist load balancing. PHC is looking forward to implementing environmentally friendly transportation option for visitors to the cable car station to reduce carbon emissions in the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve area. Besides, the cable car will provide a safe and enjoyable ride that will heighten visitors’ appreciation towards nature amid admiring the lush greeneries and aerial view of the Penang Hill Biosphere Reserve.
Having that said, I would like to thank all parties involved, and congratulate Hartasuma Sdn Bhd for successfully winning the bidding. I hope that with this RFP award, Hartasuma Sdn Bhd together with the State Government will be able to propel Penang’s economy to remain dynamic and viable, in line with the state’s Penang2030 vision.
Thank you.