Penang Hill Cable-Car

The ski lift at ESCAPE theme park offers an idea of the future Penang Hill Cable-Car (9 November 2019)


Edisi B. Melayu


Penang Hill Cable Car is a cable-car being planned to connect Penang Hill. This is to provide an alternative to the Penang Hill Funicular Train. The project was first announced by Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng when he presented the 2020 Budget on 11 October, 2019, saying that the Federal Government has allocated RM100 million for the project.

According to Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, the project is expected to bring more people to Penang Hill, but the number of visitors could be spread out systematically. This includes giving incentives to those taking the cable car after 6:00pm.

On 8 January, 2020, following a breakdown in the funicular train, the state government resolved to implement the cable car to Penang Hill, connecting it to the Penang Botanic Gardens. Mr Chow had earlier said that between eight to ten pylons would be needed to support the cable-car network, and the station would be just outside the gates of the Botanic Gardens, possibly near the Penang Rifle Club.

Updates on the Penang Hill Cable Car

29 June 2024
The Star reports that the Penang Hill Cable Car project has taken off and is scheduled to be completed by the third quarter of 2026. It will be a 2.73-km monocable line featuring 50 8-seater gondolas that will be able to carry up to 1,000 passengers per hour to the hill station located at a height of 833-metres.

A 3-storey cable-car station will be built at the Botanic Gardens. The station will have food and beverate outlets as well as retail outlets. The journey will take 10 minutes. At Penang Hill, a cable car station will be built on a 1.15 hectare piece of land. The station will be four storeys tall and will have retail outlets.

There will be 15 pylon towers. Of these, only 5 will be built in the forest while the remaining 10 will be close to the upper and lower stations, as well as the jeep track, so no new road access will be built.

27 June 2023
Penang Property Talk reports the Penang Chief Minister, YAB Chow Kon Yeow, announcing that Doppelmayr Group will be responsible for providing the cable car system for Penang Hill. Chow expressed confidence in Doppelmayr's expertise, emphasizing their reputation for reliability, safety and cutting-edge technology. The estimated investment for the project is RM245 million, and the concession holder Hartasuma Sdn Bhd will operate it on a 30-year concession period. The project is expected to be operational in three years (2026?).

17 May 2023
Malay Mail reports that the construction of the proposed Penang Hill cable car project is expected to start in the second quarter of 2024. According to Penang Hill Corporation (PHC) general manager Datuk Cheok Lay Leng, PHC is finalising the technical details for the project such as the alignment and the sites for the pylons. The preliminary works would take 9 to 12 months.

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