The Penang Hill cable car project has reached 32 per cent completion, with physical works on track for August 2027 and operations targeted for the fourth quarter of that year, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow announced.
Chow confirmed the milestone during an inspection visit to the project site on 21 August, noting the successful installation of the third support tower as a visible sign of progress, Bernama reported.
According to Malay Mail, the RM367.2 million initiative, implemented by Hartasuma Sdn Bhd, officially broke ground in January 2025.
“This shows that the Penang Hill cable car project is now entering a more exciting phase following the completion of all underground works,” Bernama quoted Chow as saying.
Chow said the underground phase posed substantial challenges due to Penang Hill’s rocky terrain and stringent technical requirements. Contractors could not use heavy machinery and had to rely on hand tools throughout the process.
“There were constraints with the underground works during the initial stage, but thankfully, they have now been completed and the project has entered the above-ground construction phase,” Bernama quoted Chow as saying. He added that the work demanded considerable patience from workers who carried out the underground excavation entirely by hand.
“We expect the work to progress faster because above-ground construction is easier to control compared with underground works,” Malay Mail quoted him as saying. Chow stressed that the visible installation of the towers should reassure the public that the project is moving forward steadily despite initial delays.
The 2.73-kilometre cable car route will comprise three main stations: Garden Station, Turn Station and Hill Station. The system will be capable of carrying up to 1,400 passengers per hour in each direction, with a travel time of about 10 minutes from the Botanical Gardens to the hilltop at 700 metres above sea level.
The project will also include multi-storey car parking facilities, a commercial plaza in front of the Botanical Gardens Department and a dedicated bus parking area, providing an alternative transport link to the existing rail system. The cable car system is expected to improve accessibility to Penang Hill, one of the state’s most visited tourism destinations.
