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Komtar Tower, or Menara Komtar Complex is Penang's tallest building and the sixth tallest building in Malaysia located in the heart of George Town, dominating the island's skyline. KOMTAR is a portmanteau of Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak. When the skyscraper topped out it was the second tallest building in Asia after Sunshine 60 in Tokyo. Komtar was still Malaysia's tallest building for 3 years before it was surpassed by Menara Maybank in Kuala Lumpur in 1988.

Komtar is a multipurpose complex consisting of retail outlets, transportation hub and administrative offices for the Penang State Government. An acronym for Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak, KOMTAR was named after Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, the second prime minister of Malaysia, who officiated in the piling of Phase 1 on 1 January 1974. It bears the same name as Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak in Johor Bahru, built about the same time but on a smaller scale. The Johor Bahru KOMTAR only has 25 storeys.

The 65-storey tower is a 232 m (761 ft) 12-sided geometric block atop a 4-storey podium. The complex comprises office and retail commercial space as well as public and recreational facilities. It was designed by Architects Team 3 (AT3) of Singapore.^[4] and designed and constructed with local expertise, also a geodesic dome of Buckminster Fuller's design. The architect involved in the design of the building was Lim Chong Keat, the younger brother of Dr Lim Chong Eu.

KOMTAR Tower commenced construction on year 1974 and at the time of its construction, Komtar is regarded as one of the cutting-edge buildings in Penang. KOMTAR was the vision of the then Chief Minister of Penang Dr Lim Chong Eu to revitalize the urban centre of George Town and usher the state forward.^{[citation needed]}

KOMTAR occupies an 11-hectare site and is the single most ambitious urban renewal project undertaken by Penang Development Corporation, the development arm of the Penang state government. The master plan is divided into five phases for implementation.

History[link]

Construction Chronology[link]

Important dates in the planning and construction of KOMTAR include the following:

KOMTAR Revitalisation Project[link]

Several initiatives are being deliberated under the first phase of the KOMTAR Revitalisation Project:

• Calling of tender for the multi-storey car park after the existing operator hands it over to the state in December 2009.
• Seeking interested parties keen in developing and leasing the commercial area at level four of the podium, levels 59 and 60 of the KOMTAR Tower, the squash centre and the food court both located on level 5.
• Turning the rooftop garden and open area on level 5 into an extreme game park and youth performing centre.

Phase 1[link]

The KOMTAR tower dominating George Town's skyline.

The atrium in February 2011.

KOMTAR Tower[link]

KOMTAR is a 65-storey complex housing offices, shops, food-courts and the Penang central government's office. KOMTAR is an acronym of Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Tun Abdul Razak Complex), in honour of the second Prime Minister of Malaysia, the late Tun Abdul Razak bin Hussein Al-Haj. Since 1985, it has been Penang's tallest building at a height of 232 metres (761 ft). This landmark located in the heart of George Town was the tallest building in Asia when it topped out (reached full height during construction phase).

KOMTAR had a duty free shop on the 57th floor. The Tower Tourist Center on Level 60 gave visitors an excellent panoramic view of the city, the mainland (Butterworth) and Penang Bridge. The observation deck was accessible from the tower's main entrance via the high-speed Mitsubishi elevator. The observation deck and the duty free shop is currently closed for renovation works and the Tourist Center has been moved to Level 3.

Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome[link]

The Dewan Tunku Geodesic Dome located on level 5 is a partial-spherical structure based on a pattern of circles called geodesics which intersects to form triangular elements. These triangular elements spread the stress across the entire structure. It is based on a concept studied, developed and popularized by R. Buckminster Fuller. The first dome structure that call called geodesic was created even earlier, by Walther Bauersfeld for the Carl Zeiss optical company, and was built in Jena, Germany, in 1922.

The dome is a multi-purpose hall used for performances, official functions, concerts and other events. The main entrance to the geodesic dome is from the auditorium level, and is also accessible from level 4 of KOMTAR.

Trader's Hotel[link]

Traders Hotel (formerly known as Shangri-La Hotel) has 443 guestrooms.

ICT Digital Mall @ KOMTAR[link]

ICT Digital Mall @ Komtar, or simply ICT Mall, is a new retail development managed by Venice Gateway Sdn. Bhd. in Komtar, Penang. Opened in November 2010, it occupies the space originally occupied by Yaohan Department Store and later by Aktif Lifestyle Store. The new mall is geared towards offering shoppers an array of electrical and electronic products including computer hardware and software, telecommunication products such as cellular phones, as well as cameras and photography gears.

The ground floor of ICT Digital Mall @ Komtar will be a food court, to be known as ICT Mall Food Court. To ensure smooth traffic flow to ICT Mall, a new overhead pedestrian bridge is constructed to link the third floor of ICT Mall to 1st Avenue Mall.

KOMTAR Bus Terminal[link]

KOMTAR Bus Terminal is the hub of bus services in George Town. All the bus routes of Penang radiates from this terminal.

Floor Directory[link]

Phase 2A[link]

Pacific Hypermarket & Departmental Store[link]

The wholly new Pacific KOMTAR is the 74th outlet chain of The Store Corporation Berhad in Malaysia. Pacific KOMTAR is occupying 4 levels.

KOMTAR Walk[link]

KOMTAR Walk, which covers a 155m-long stretch parallel to Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, is a food and beverage hub being developed by Pacific Hypermarket & Department Store Sdn Bhd.

KOMTAR Walk would house 19 high-end F&B outlets underneath an open-air lightweight roof. The 19 new outlets, five single-storey ones will stand in a single structure at the foot of the overhead bridge facing the outdoor carpark. Meanwhile seven more are connected to the KOMTAR building next to the GeorgeTown White Coffee outlet while the remaining seven outlets, which are all double-storey, are located opposite (KOMTAR). These two rows are separated by a 5m walkway, which also allows for outdoor seating.

Phase 2B[link]

Parcel of land sold to a local retail chain for development of retail commercial. Construction once began around the same time as Phase 4 Prangin Mall (see below) in 1997. However, the project has since been put on hold following soil subsidence affecting the surrounding areas, as well as the Asian financial crisis. The Prangin Mall development was later identified to be the most probable cause of the subsidence. Phase 2B is now used as an outdoor car park.

Phase 4: 1st Avenue[link]

Features[link]

Located in the heart of Georgetown along Jalan Magazine, 1st Avenue Shopping Mall measures 655,000 sqf in gross floor area and spreads over 7 retail levels.

TGV Cinemas[link]

This is the first TGV Cinemas outlet in Penang Island. Opened on 8 January 2011, it has 8 cinema theatres with a capacity of 1,310 people. It also contains Malaysia's first Beanieplex, which enables moviegoers to relax on beanbags while enjoying their movies.

Phase 3: Prangin Mall[link]

Features[link]

Prangin Mall is a shopping centre in George Town, Penang. Named after Prangin Road, also known as Jalan Dr Lim Chwee Leong, Prangin Mall was opened for business in the year 2001. It caters to a market ranging from lower to middle class. The mall comprises six levels including a basement floor, two levels of basement parking and a further three levels of parking at the upper floors.

Phase 5[link]

Earmarked for commercial use but revised in 2002 to include a transportation hub.

References[link]

v t e Skyscrapers in Malaysia Completed Alor Setar Tower Berjaya Times Square Dayabumi Complex Empire Tower Faber Towers Komtar Tower Kuala Lumpur Tower Kerinchi Pylon Maxis Tower Menara Great Eastern Maybank Tower Menara Mesiniaga Menara MBPJ Menara Telekom Millennium Tower Pavilion Kuala Lumpur Petronas Twin Towers Tun Mustapha Tower SUNTECH Tower Wisma Sanyan Under construction Penang Global City Centre Construction suspended Plaza Rakyat Proposed Selangor Triple Towers Warisan Merdeka Demolished Jaya Supermarket Pekeliling Flats Suleiman Courts