Kulim Hi-Tech Park

It is Malaysia's first high-technology industrial park, operating since 1996 in Kulim, Kedah. The developer, landowner and manager is Kulim Technology Park Corporation Sdn Bhd (KTPC), which is wholly owned by the Kedah State Development Corporation. KHTP covers about 5,550 acres in six zones — industrial, urban, R&D and training, institutional, amenity and residential — and has its own local authority, PBT Taman Perindustrian Hi-Tech Kulim, alongside Kulim Municipal Council.

No. KHTP is one state-run park on KTPC leasehold land. The Kulim Industrial Corridor is Kulim Municipal Council's 17,552-acre master plan for the whole district, divided into seven zones from KIC 1 to KIC 7 — KHTP Phase 4 and 4A form KIC 2 and the planned KHTP 5 is in KIC 3. Padang Meha, north-east of the park in zones KIC 4 and KIC 5, is a separate cluster of privately owned, mostly freehold industrial land. Some agents advertise Padang Meha land as 'Kulim Hi-Tech Park'; check the title and location before you compare prices.

KTPC promotes twelve industries: wafer fabrication, semiconductors and related activities, advanced electrical and electronics, machinery and metal technology, process control and automation equipment, advanced materials, alternative energy, transportation technology, medical and life sciences, biotechnology, services and supporting industries, and new and emerging technologies. Land is leased only to approved projects in these areas, so the park is not the place for heavy or polluting industry — those users generally look at Padang Meha and other parts of the Kulim Industrial Corridor instead.

Leasehold. KTPC owns the land and grants 60-year leases — for example, Maxland's data-centre lease runs from 15 December 2024 to 14 December 2094 with an option to renew for a further 39 years by agreement. Foreign-owned companies also need state consent under Section 433B of the National Land Code, which KTPC helps to obtain. Some portal listings describe KHTP properties as freehold; treat that as an error until you have seen the title.

Only in limited amounts. Industrial Zones Phases 1 to 4 — about 2,100 acres of industrial land — are fully leased. Phase 4A (about 250 acres, offered as ten large lots) has been under land clearing and infrastructure works, KTPC has announced the KHTP 2 expansion towards 12,000 acres, and in December 2025 it was reported to be close to buying 500 acres behind Phase 1 with parties already lined up. Otherwise the options are Northern Technocity's 354-acre development inside the park, or an existing factory from another occupier with KTPC's consent.

Electricity is supplied by NUR Power, a private utility with exclusive generation and distribution rights inside KHTP, so occupiers are not TNB customers; NUR Power has added gas-turbine generating capacity since 2024 but raised tariffs by up to 21% from January 2025. Water comes from Sungai Muda through the Pinang Tunggal treatment plant, sewerage is by Indah Water, and 5G coverage spans Industrial Zones Phases 1 to 4. Northern Technocity lists natural gas among its utilities; confirm gas supply for any other lot before committing. KTPC also runs supporting services in the park, including an accredited laboratory, an ethylene-oxide sterilisation plant for medical devices and technical training.

The Butterworth–Kulim Expressway runs from the park to Butterworth and the North–South Expressway. The North Butterworth Container Terminal at Penang Port is about 26 km away and Penang International Airport about 45 km via the Penang Bridge, with Seberang Perai's industrial areas — Perai, Bukit Minyak and Batu Kawan — all within easy trucking distance. A Kulim International Airport has been proposed for the north of the district, but the federal Transport Ministry has not approved it.

Because KHTP is planned as a township, much of daily life is inside it: more than 6,800 homes in neighbourhoods such as Kulim Utama, Kulim Perdana and Kulim Techno City, the Kulim Avenue commercial area, the 18-hole Kulim Golf Club with its clubhouse, the KHTP Sports Complex, and SK and SMK Taman Hi-Tech schools. The R&D and training zone holds UniKL MSI and Politeknik Tuanku Sultanah Bahiyah. KTPC is adding centralised labour quarters and a private hospital, and Aman Cove is planning a RM650 million township on 69.95 acres it bought from KTPC in 2025. Kulim town and Kulim Hospital are a short drive away.

KHTP is priced as a premium, fully serviced park, but land and rents are still well below Penang island. Rates depend on the phase, lot size, building age and specification. Contact a local industrial agent for current market rates and available inventory. As at year 2026, new industrial land in KHTP is leased by KTPC rather than sold, and recent 60-year leases have worked out at about RM 50 per square foot of land. Resale transactions are rare; a warehouse of 44,934 sq ft on 108,898 sq ft of land sold for RM16.9 million in November 2023, about RM 155 per square foot on land or RM 376 on built-up. Asking rents for large detached factories are around RM 1.70 – 2.80 per square foot on built-up.