Penang Silicon Island: 480 acres reclaimed, RM1.9 billion spent, LRT depot handed over

Penang Silicon Island is a 2,300-acre island being reclaimed from the sea off Batu Maung, at the southern tip of Penang island, to pay for the state’s Mutiara Line LRT and to give Penang a new generation of industrial land beside the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone and the airport. This page is our standing record of the project. It is updated each time the numbers move, with the date of each change marked. The timeline at the bottom links every milestone to its source.

As of 16 September 2026

• Reclaimed: more than 480 acres of the 2,300 — about 21% of the island and 38% of Phase 1 — three years after reclamation began in September 2023
• Spent: RM1.9 billion to date, through more than 4,400 local contractors and suppliers; more than 900 Malaysians employed on the project
• Pace: about 250 acres by October 2025, 330 acres by March 2026, 480 by September 2026 — roughly 25 acres a month over the last six months, up from 10 a month in the first two years. At that rate Phase 1’s remaining 780 acres take about 31 months, inside the June 2030 contract date
• Land already committed: 27.7 hectares (68 acres) for the Mutiara Line LRT depot, handed to MRT Corp; soil investigation for the depot began by August 2026
• Next: first factories in the Green Tech Park due to start construction in 2026 with operations from 2027; a state administrative centre on 2.8 ha by 2028; Phase 1 (1,260 acres) by 2030–31; the full island by 2032
• Headline targets the state quotes: about RM70 billion of investment, RM1 trillion to RM1.1 trillion of economic value by 2050, and 220,000 jobs

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What it is

• Size and shape: one island of 930.77 hectares (2,300 acres), about 350 metres off the Batu Maung and Permatang Damar Laut shoreline, built to at least 3 metres above sea level. The original Penang South Reclamation plan was three islands totalling 4,500 acres; Islands B and C were dropped in May 2023
• Who owns and builds it: Silicon Island Development Sdn Bhd, a 70:30 venture between Gamuda’s SRS PD Sdn Bhd and the state’s Penang Infrastructure Corporation, formed on 1 March 2023. Under the project development agreement signed that month it finances the whole job with private capital, "without any recourse to the state government", and in return holds the exclusive right to develop and dispose of the reclaimed land. Gamuda Engineering is the reclamation contractor
• What it costs: the developer’s own estimate was about RM6 billion to reclaim the island plus RM2.5 billion of common infrastructure and a highway. The Phase 1 reclamation contract alone is RM3.717 billion for 1,260 acres — derived: about RM2.95 million an acre, or RM68 per sq ft, just to make the land. That is roughly what the Penang Development Corporation sells finished industrial plots for on the mainland. The RM1.9 billion spent so far on 480 acres works out at about RM91 per sq ft, though that figure includes mobilisation and infrastructure that serves the whole island
• How it is built: 102 million cubic metres of sand dredged in federal waters off Perak by custom trailing-suction dredgers, transferred at a rehandling station near Pulau Rimau, with rock from Pantai Remis; silt curtains and a marine control centre at Batu Maung. Derived: 102 million m³ over 930 ha is an average fill of about 11 metres

The land use, from the Local Plan 2050

The Penang Silicon Island Local Plan 2050 (RTPSI 2050), Malaysia’s first local plan for a fully reclaimed greenfield site, went on public display in April 2026:

• Industrial: 224.1 ha (554 acres), 24.1% of the island
• Infrastructure and utilities: 214.6 ha (530 acres), 23.1% — including the LRT depot
• Open and recreational space: 156.1 ha (386 acres), 16.8%
• Housing: 146 ha (361 acres), 15.7%
• Mixed development: 81.4 ha (201 acres), 8.8%; commercial: 51.3 ha (127 acres), 5.5%
• Roads: 29.3 ha; institutional and community: 27.7 ha, including a 2.8 ha state administrative centre that may house a new legislative assembly building
• Targets: a 45% cut in carbon emissions, full renewable power in the Green Tech Park, a 70:30 split in favour of public transport, cycling and walking, a no-dig utility corridor policy

The Green Tech Park is the industrial precinct: 700 acres, sold on 99-year leasehold, marketed (JLL lists a 40.47 ha first phase) at semiconductor equipment, integrated circuits, advanced packaging, EDA, medical devices, test equipment and avionics. It carries a 5-Diamond Low Carbon City accreditation from the Malaysian Green Technology and Climate Change Corporation. Phase 1 was unveiled at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre on 8 October 2025 after a global launch at the Osaka World Expo on 24 September 2025.

Take note that the Green Tech Park is described as 700 acres (283 ha) while RTPSI 2050 zones only 224.1 ha (554 acres) as industrial — likely the park presumably includes its own roads, utilities and green buffers counted under other zones. To be updated again in the foreseeable future

The court cases

Seven Sungai Batu fishermen, Sahabat Alam Malaysia and Jaringan Ekologi dan Iklim filed for judicial review in December 2023 against the planning permission granted on 21 August 2023. The High Court dismissed the application on 11 July 2024, finding no illegality or irrationality in the state’s approval. The Court of Appeal dismissed their appeal on 30 June 2026, unanimously, on the ground that it was filed after the 1 December 2023 deadline — but the bench also held that the state planning director and Planning Committee had no power to grant planning permission for reclamation, a finding the state has disputed. Reclamation was never halted by either case.

Why it matters for industrial property

It is the only new industrial land supply on the island. Bayan Lepas has been full for years; the state’s answer to "where do the next Intels and Infineons go on the island" is 554 acres of industrial zoning here, on 99-year leases, from 2027. Every mainland land price from Batu Kawan to Bukit Minyak will be read against what the Green Tech Park asks.

The reclamation cost sets a floor. At RM68 per sq ft just to create the land, before infrastructure, the Green Tech Park cannot sell cheaply. For comparison, PTT Synergy paid RM148 per sq ft for freehold land in Seberang Perai Selatan this month, and the Penang Development Corporation’s mainland plots have been in the RM70 per sq ft range.

The LRT is now physically tied to it. The depot land is handed over, the RM3.03 billion systems contract is awarded, and the Komtar-to-Silicon-Island civil works are under way. Whatever happens to the island’s sales timetable, the state’s transport plan now depends on it.

Timeline

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Each entry links to the report it came from. Newest at the bottom.

• 2015 — Penang South Reclamation announced under the Penang Transport Master Plan: three islands, 4,500 acres, to fund the transport plan; the Gamuda-led SRS Consortium (with Loh Phoy Yen Holdings and Ideal Property) appointed project delivery partner. Citizens Journal explainer
• 2019 – April 2023 — EIA conditionally approved in 2019 after a 2018 rejection; rescinded by the Department of Environment in 2021; re-approved in April 2023. Citizens Journal explainer
• 1 March 2023 — Silicon Island Development Sdn Bhd incorporated, 70% Gamuda / 30% Penang Infrastructure Corporation; project development agreement grants it the right to develop and dispose of the reclaimed land. FMT, 6 March 2023
• 11 May 2023 — Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow cuts the project to Island A alone, 2,300 acres, 49% smaller, at Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s request; federal funds pledged for the LRT. The Edge, 22 June 2023
• 22 June 2023 — Gamuda awards Phase 1 reclamation, RM3.717 billion for about 1,260 acres, to SRS TC and on to Gamuda Engineering; works from 1 July, completion by 30 June 2030. The Edge, 22 June 2023
• September 2023 — Reclamation begins after Environmental Management Plan approval in July; 102 million m³ of sand from Perak; 21 August 2023 planning permission later challenged in court. Gamuda, 30 October 2023
• 2 April 2024 — Fishermen and NGOs’ judicial review pending as the cabinet approves the RM10.5 billion, 29 km Mutiara Line LRT starting from the island. The Vibes, 2 April 2024
• 11 July 2024 — High Court dismisses the judicial review. FMT, 11 July 2024
• 4 July 2024 — Silicon Island Development CEO Datuk Szeto Wai Loong sets out the 70:30 public-transport modal shift; 2032 completion target restated. The Star via Gamuda, 4 July 2024
• 24 September 2025 — Global launch at the Osaka World Expo. 8 October 2025 — Green Tech Park Phase 1 unveiled at KLCC; 101.2 ha (250 acres) reclaimed to date; first factories 2026, operations 2027. The Star, 29 October 2025
• 7 April 2026 — RTPSI 2050 local plan launched for public display to 8 May; 133.5 ha (330 acres) reclaimed as of March; Phase 1 of 513.95 ha targeted for 2031; LRT depot land to be handed over in May. Malay Mail, 7 April 2026 · The Star, 9 April 2026
• May 2026 — 27.7 ha depot site handed to MRT Corp. 30 June 2026 — Court of Appeal dismisses the fishermen’s appeal as out of time while holding the state planners lacked power to approve reclamation. FMT, 30 June 2026
• 6 August 2026 — MRT Corp reports soil investigation under way for the Silicon Island depot; RM3.028 billion LRT systems contract awarded to MRCB–Theta Edge. The Edge / Bernama, 6 August 2026
• 16 September 2026 — Pulau Tikus assemblyman Joshua Woo: more than 480 acres reclaimed, RM1.9 billion spent, 4,400 local contractors, 900 Malaysians employed; about 70 acres set aside for the depot. Penang Property Talk, 16 September 2026

Update log

• 17 September 2026 — Page created. Baseline: 480 acres, RM1.9 billion, depot land handed over, Court of Appeal ruling, RTPSI 2050 land use.

*Photos: Gamuda Berhad (June 2026 progress aerials). Timeline graphic: industrialandland.com.my. This page is updated in place; see the update log for what changed and when.*