BUKIT MERTAJAM, Sept 7 (Bernama) -- Penang's iconic ferries, one of which has been turned into a floating ferry museum at Tanjung Marina with its heritage godowns, will be operational here at the end of this year and the refurbishment has reached 90 per cent completion.
Penang Port Commission (SPPP) chairman Datuk Yeoh Soon Hin said another iconic ferry is with a developer company, Ideal Property, which will re-configurate the vessel into a floating restaurant and is currently located on the seafront in Queensbay, Bayan Lepas.
“What will be on the ferry museum, I will not reveal now so let us wait until the launch, but I can inform you that the museum is expected to open at the end of this year,” he said after inaugurating the ‘Jom Durian programme B40 Price T20 Quality’ at Mydin Bukit Mertajam here today.
Previously, Yeoh said SPPP decided to dispose of some of the iconic ferries as soon as possible because they are beyond repair due to serious deterioration and decay and could not be floated.
Commenting further, he said several companies had come to assess the iconic ferries but did not buy them because it not only requires high capital to repair but also entails expensive refurbishment and maintenance.
He said each of the iconic car-passenger ferries required millions to be repaired because the island was home to the oldest ferry service in the country and the hulls have been worn out due to the ravages of age, so SPPP would dispose of these decayed ferries.
Previously, SPPP had leased the iconic ferry to a number of companies that were eligible to be used as a state tourism product in 2021, but one ambition to turn the Pulau Kapas Ferry into a floating restaurant failed to materialise following the lessee’s non-compliance with the agreement and the lease was terminated in February 2023.
Penang’s iconic ferry service ended in 2020 after more than 126 years of operation and was replaced by speedboats to carry passengers and two-wheelers like motorcycles and bicycles.
-- BERNAMA
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