Penang’s iconic ferry Pulau Angsa set for transformation as state govt calls for proposals

GEORGE TOWN, July 30 — The Penang government has called for a request for proposal (RFP) for the sole iconic ferry that Penang Port Commission (PPC) had gifted to the state.

Tourism and Creative Economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said they called for the RFP this year and received applications from the private sector.

“The RFP is currently in the technical review stage,” he said when contacted.

He said it will take time to convert the ferry as the old ferry is no longer seaworthy.

“Apparently the investment for such conversion is exorbitant as the ferry has to be brought to the shipyard for major repairs and brought to land later,” he said when contacted by Malay Mail.

Back in 2021, PPC, the owner of the iconic ferries that were retired in 2020, had given the Penang government one of the ferries, named Pulau Angsa.

Wong said those who submitted to the RFP will have to consider the costs of bringing the ferry to the shipyard, repairs, conversions and relocation of it to land.

“Each stage takes a long time,” he said.

Meanwhile, PPC chairman Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin said they currently have six ferries but two, Pulau Kapas and Pulau Undan, are in bad condition.

He said Pulau Kapas, which sank a few days ago, and Pulau Undan will be scrapped as those are no longer salvageable.

“Pulau Pinang, Pulau Payar and Pulau Talang Talang are still in good condition,” he said.

He said Pulau Pinang has already been leased out to a private company and it will be transformed into a ferry museum as a tourism product.

“It will be parked at Tanjung Marina,” he said.

As for Pulau Payar and Pulau Talang-Talang, he said PPC is still open to any proposals from interested parties willing to take them up and manage them.

“We welcome any party interested to repurpose the ferries to contact us and submit their proposals,” he said.

It is learnt that PPC sold off one of its iconic ferries, Pulau Rimau, several years ago and the ferry is now being refurbished to be turned into a restaurant.

The old ferries that used to be an icon for Penang, were commissioned sometime between the 1970s and the early 2000s.

The old ferries were retired on December 31, 2021 after the operator Penang Port Sdn Bhd brought in fast passenger boats.

Four new ferries were brought in last year to ply the route between the Raja Tun Uda Terminal on the island and Sultan Abdul Halim Terminal in Butterworth.