For the people of Permatang Damar Laut, the southern Penang coast where the fishing boats come in, the island growing offshore now has a road with a date on it. The first bridge section of Pan Island Link 2A, the RM420 million road that will run from Jalan Permatang Damar Laut out to Silicon Island, is due to open in December 2028, with the whole link finished by June 2029, Penang Infrastructure Corporation chief executive Datuk Seri Farizan Darus said on 17 October 2026 (Buletin Mutiara).
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow noted that his earlier visits had been by boat, and this was his first time arriving by car, when he opened the Silicon Island Experience Centre there that day. The centre is a single-storey, 2,500 sq ft building that cost RM2.5 million and went up in four months, according to Farizan. Inside, an LED scale model worked from an iPad shows what the state plans to put on the land: a 700-acre Green Tech Park, commercial and residential areas, more than 110km of cycling and walking paths and 402 acres of green space, coastal parks and marine conservation zones. Silicon Island Development says the centre is open to government agencies, investors, local communities and strategic partners; opening hours have not been published.
Reclamation began in September 2023 and has now reached about 500 acres, or roughly 200 hectares. PenangToday put the figure at 202.3 hectares. Buletin Mutiara describes the finished island as about 2,300 acres; other reports give the master plan in hectares and the numbers do not quite agree, so treat the total as approximate.
The people closest to the works are the nelayan who fish these waters. Farizan said more than RM30 million has gone to local fishermen so far through ex-gratia payments, new boats and engines and better landing facilities, alongside artificial reefs, fish and prawn releases and a target of 200,000 mangroves and other trees by 2030. Chow said help with livelihoods, skills training, financial aid and education would continue, "particularly" for fishermen.
What the island means for homes nearby is still mostly a promise. Chow put the long-term figure at more than 220,000 jobs in high-tech industry, the creative economy and modern services, and the plan includes housing, but no unit numbers, prices or launch dates have been given for anything residential. No tenant for the industrial land was named at the launch either; Chow's message to investors was simply that "our doors are now open".
For anyone living between Bayan Lepas and Batu Maung, December 2028 is the date to hold the state to.
Sources: Buletin Mutiara, PenangToday, PenangToday.
