KUALA LUMPUR: The Penang state government will be putting up a parcel of land located between the Penang's first bridge and Queensbay shopping mall in the open market for international open tender.

Its chief minister Lim Guan Eng said that the 100 acres of land, comprising of 60 acres of land plus 40 acres of land to be reclaimed, would be sold for a minimum reserve price of RM200 psf.

"Its very cheap and the land can be used to develop hospitals or office lots... it's a bargain 10 years down the road," he told reporters after delivering his keynote luncheon address at the 13th National Housing and Property Summit on Thursday, July 29.

He said the parcel of land has generated lots of interest from foreign investors and welcomed domestic players from Penang and outside Penang.

The tender for the parcel of land would be out by mid-August and the letter of award is expected to be awarded next year.

Lim added that Penang is poised to see some exciting development in the property sector as local- and Kuala Lumpur-based developers are lining up 2,696 units of residential properties with an estimated gross sales value (GSV) of over RM2.1 billion on the island and Penang mainland.

"Some 1,676 units of these properties, with an estimated RM1.84 billion are located on the island. The other 1,020 units with an estimated GSV of RM300 million are located on the mainland," he said.

On a separate matter, Lim noted that Georgetown has been listed as the most livable city in Malaysia by ECA International, a global expatriates business solution provider. EXA named Georgetown as the 8th most-livable city in Asia.

"Globally we ranked 64th, up from 72nd three years ago. We are now on par with KL and indeed can be called the most livable city in Malaysia," he added.

Lim pointed out that Georgetown's status as a UNESCO World Heritage City has bought the city international recognition and has attracted many foreigners and Malaysia My Second Home (MM2H) house buyers to Penang.

He said that are seven elements that needed to change for Penang to retain its position as the most-livable city.

Among the seven elements are security and stability such as low crime rates, which Lim said Penang has seen a decrease of 17.3% in 1H2010. The other elements are: good governance and effective leadership; economic vibrancy and competitiveness; good quality of life and diversity; environmental friendliness and sustainability; heritage conservation; and an intelligent city encompassing human, collective, digital, institutional and integrity intelligence.

Source: http://www.theedgeproperty.com/news-a-views/4208-penang-puts-up-land-for-bids.html

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