GEORGE TOWN – Seeing the fact that the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project has been in limbo since its proposal, the state government has moved to expand Batu Kawan’s industrial area.
Originally, under the PSR, one out of three proposed islands was to be dedicated as an industrial hub, but its environmental impact assessment (EIA) approving the project was revoked after a group of fishermen won an appeal against it.
This has left investors scratching their heads on whether Penang is still a viable investment destination.
Today, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow gave assurance that Penang will not be left behind as Penang Development Corporation and InvestPenang are also working on other industrial lands around Batu Kawan.
“We will be developing towards the south and east of Batu Kawan as the next industrial zone. In terms of readiness, it will all be on board in about two years,” he said at a press conference after the launch of Western Digital Batu Kawan’s World Economic Forum (WEF) Lighthouse Network.
“Promotion of the land can probably happen next year. We will be moving in phase by phase so that the industrial estate plot will be ready for investment.”
Though much of the Batu Kawan industrial land have been taken up, there are still pockets of land open to be taken up by investors.
Chow added that seeing PSR is a long-term plan to increase Penang’s industrial landbanks, the areas in the east and south of Batu Kawan are more immediately available for development.
Touching on the revocation of PSR’s EIA, the state administration plans on filing a judicial review and resubmitting the assessment for the project.
“We do not know how long this project will take, but it is necessary. Meanwhile, the south and east of Batu Kawan will be able to meet the needs for many years before PSR is ready to be promoted as the next industrial zone for Penang,” he said.
With WEF recognising and awarding Western Digital factory at Batu Kawan as the latest entry to its Global Lighthouse Network (GLN), Chow believes that many will, and should, follow suit to make Penang an attractive industrial hub.
The Padang Kota assemblyman said that significant advancements in technology have enabled businesses to be placed at new heights with solutions to boost productivity while ensuring sustainability.
“We are on our journey to a new age of manufacturing where the Internet of Things, artificial intelligence (AI) and big data analytics are becoming the key components in the production chain.
“Western Digital’s principle and practice are also in tandem with my Penang2030 Vision: Family-Friendly Green and Smart State to Inspire the Nation.
“What we need now is less talk and more action. Western Digital has put this all into action and has achieved the outcome, leading to recognition. We need to see more real cases instead of just listening to theories,” Chow said.
Meanwhile, Western Digital vice-president of global flash back-end operations Viswanath Ramaswamy said the facility at Batu Kawan is one of the 90 sites globally to be recognised by the WEF as a global leading Industry 4.0 smart manufacturing facility.
Also holding the position as SanDisk Storage Malaysia site general manager, Viswanath explained that its Batu Kawan factory’s “lights out” automation process is a leading factor that pushed them into the “prestigious” GLN.
“Our team has sought to automate operations with the use of advanced analytics and application of proprietary AI solutions to enable a lights-out manufacturing operation. We partnered some of our strategic partners within our tech ecosystem to deliver the solutions.
“We were successful with the automation of production and logistics to deliver 32% factory cost improvement, reducing product inventory and order lead time by 50%, as well as 360% increase in labour productivity,” he said.
GLN is a community of production sites and other facilities that are world leaders in the adoption and integration of the cutting-edge technologies of the Industry 4.0.
Three and a half years ago, Western Digital took the leap to meet their increased demand by implementing diverse Industry 4.0 technologies through “lights-out” manufacturing that also led to 42% upskilled workforce and zero job elimination. – The Vibes, October 8, 2021.
