PENANG

Penang is one of Malaysia's states, located in the northwest of Peninsular Malaysia. It comprises two parts – the Penang island, where the state capital of Georgetown is, and the mainland, connected by the Penang Bridge and Jambatan Sutan Abdul Halim Muadzam Shah, or the Second Penang Bridge.

The state's main industry is manufacturing; much of the mainland and the southern part of the island is allocated to industrial areas and the Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone. Penang also has a Multimedia Super Corridor Cyber City status. With the island's seasides, hill resorts and lush greenery, tourism is a vital industry too.

Health tourism is also growing in Penang, with visitors travelling to the state for treatment in hospitals like the Adventist Medical Centre, Gleneagles Penang, Island Hospital, Lam Wah Ee Hospital, Loh Guan Lye Specialist Centre, Mount Miriam Cancer Hospital, Pantai Hospital Penang and Penang Adventist Hospital.

Recent years have seen affordable housing being planned and built in Penang's matured townships such as Sungai Ara, Balik Pulau, Gelugor, Tanjung Bungah, Tanjung Tokong and Georgetown. This is a huge plus point for first-time home buyers, giving them the option of staying closer to their workplaces at a lower cost.

The value of properties on the mainland of Penang also has seen growth, especially in the prime area of Batu Kawan with the opening of the Second Penang Bridge, indicating good potential for the mainland's properties.

There is an abundance of residential properties on the island – multiple high-rises and landed properties alike – being developed on existing and reclaimed land along the coastline, as well on inland hillsides. This gives buyers and investors the opportunity to make detailed comparisons of each property's features, and to select the property that offers high quality units and well-planned facilities at a suitable price point.

Main roads on the Penang Island include the trunk road, Route 6, that goes around the entire island, the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway along the eastern coast, the Balik Pulau Hill Road and the Bayan Lepas Elevated Highway. The island is served by bus terminals in Sungai Nibong, Tanjung Bungah, as well as Komtar and Weld Quay in Georgetown.

On the mainland, the North-South expressway (NSE) can be accessed via Seberang Perai, leading to other cities and states in Peninsular Malaysia, while highways like the Butterworth Outer Ring Road (BORR) and Butterworth-Kulim Expressway connect various towns in the mainland, such as Perai, Sungai Dua, Butterworth and Kulim, Kedah. There is also a bus terminal in Bukit Mertajam and Butterworth.