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Look what Singapore’s cable car upgrade looks like!
KUALA LUMPUR, March 20, 2024: It is well and good that Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) is expected to start construction of a cable car project in Q2 this year.
The project is expected to give Penang Hill’s tourist attraction a boost after decades of rail service.
However, will PHC be installing the latest cable car technology or remain behind Singapore?
View the above image and see what Singapore’s cable car upgrade looks like.
No News Is Bad News reproduces news reports on the Penang Hill cable car project:
Penang Hill Corp expects to start construction of cable car project in Q2 2024
Cheok said the cable car project must be built to last decades like other similar cable cars in other countries, some of which are over 70 years old. — Malay Mail file pic
By Opalyn Mok
Wednesday, 17 May 2023 12:56 PM MYT
GEORGE TOWN, May 17 — Construction on the proposed Penang Hill cable car project is expected to start in the second quarter of next year, Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng said today.
He said PHC is currently finalising the technical details for the project such as the alignment and the sites for the pylons to be built in the hill side, which are the island’s green lungs, and the various permits — including the traffic impact assessment (TIA) and environmental impact assessment (EIA) — will be applied with the government agencies after that.
“All these preliminary works will take between nine to 12 months and once we get the necessary approvals, we hope to start construction works by next year, possibly second quarter of the year,” he told reporters after jointly launching a mural at the Penang Hill lower station with Air Putih assemblyman Lim Guan Eng and Air Itam assemblyman Joseph Ng.
Cheok said the cable car project must be built to last decades like other similar cable cars in other countries, some of which are over 70 years old.
“We are also looking at cable cars in other Unesco biosphere sites as examples on how to build it in such sensitive areas,” he said.
He said experts from Switzerland and Austria will be coming to Penang to look at the alignment for the cable car next week.
“We will need to confirm the alignment for the cable car before we proceed with the required reports for approvals,” he said.
Among the plans for the project included building a multi-storey car park near the Penang Botanic Gardens where the lower station of the cable car is expected to be located.
Cheok said there are also plans to create beautiful landscapes around the whole area where the lower station is located.
“We will also look into how to solve traffic issues there,” he said.
He said once construction works started, the project is expected to take about two years to complete.
The Penang state government awarded the tender to build the cable car project to local rail industry pioneer, Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, in December last year.
The project was awarded through a public private partnership on design, finance, build, operate and transfer.
Hartasuma is expected to invest RM245 million in the project and the project is based on a 30-year concession period.
According to Hartasuma, the upper station will be located about 730 metres above sea level and it will take about 10 minutes to transport visitors from the lower station up.
RM245mil Penang cable car project gets EIA approval
-03 Feb 2024, 02:24 PM
Penang Hill Corporation general manager Cheok Lay Leng says the EIA approval was obtained last month.
An artist’s impression of the Penang Hill cable car.
GEORGE TOWN: The RM245 million Penang Hill cable car project has received a key environmental approval, with construction to begin in April.
Penang Hill Corporation general manager Cheok Lay Leng said the environmental impact assessment (EIA) approval for the 2.9km line was obtained last month and the project will take about 18 months to complete.
Cheok Lay Leng.
“We have received planning approval permission from the city council, too. The key thing is to manage our stakeholders as we carry out this project and getting input on the additional conditions imposed,” he told reporters at Penang Hill today.
In 2022, the Penang government selected Hartasuma, a Klang Valley-based company, for the project with a 30-year concession.
It was previously reported that a large multi-storey car park will be built on the grounds of the Botanic Gardens, connecting it to the cable car station. From there, the gondolas will serve 1,000 persons at any one time at a speed of 6m per second, operating at about 700m above sea level to the Penang Hill station.
Doppelmayr, an Austrian company, is set to supply the gondolas.
The state had said the cable car will be within the transition zone of the Unesco reserve, where development is allowed.
Those supporting the cable car project say it would boost tourism to the island as well as alleviate traffic on the Swiss-made funicular trains, which are prone to breakdowns.
The Unesco biosphere reserve on the hill covers 12,481ha, comprising the Botanic Gardens, the Penang National Park, six permanent forest reserves and two dams.
Green groups previously spoke against the project, saying it would ruin the precious Penang Hill range that runs through the spine of the island.
With 1.6 million visitors to the hill last year alone, the state said the funicular railway is running at overcapacity, and the cable car will help reduce its load.
Earlier today, chief minister Chow Kon Yeow opened a new RM10.9 million waiting area at the top station, which can accommodate 700 people.
The waiting area also boasts 334 solar panels.
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