The Penang government announced five finalist teams in the Penang South Islands (PSI) Masterplan Design Competition (MDC) for the development of three man-made islands under the Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project.

Speaking yesterday, Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the selection of the finalists was based on their capability and experience in projects similar to PSR's nature and challenges, urban design excellence and technical innovation, a brief project outline statement and their commitment and credentials in producing sustainable solutions.

"Each of the five finalist teams is led by international and Malaysian companies to ensure all proposals submitted contain excellent concepts and solutions and are informed by local knowledge and context," he told a press conference.

The five finalists are Bjarke Ingels Group (Denmark) with Hijjas Architect & Planner, Foster + Partners (United Kingdom) with GDP Architects Sdn Bhd, MVRDV (The Netherlands) with aLM Architects, Tekuma Frenchman Urban Design (United States of America) with EOWON Architects and UN Studio (the Netherlands) with Architects 61 Sdn Bhd.

Chow said the state government has also decided to display all design submissions from the five finalists in a public exhibition at the conclusion of the competition, which is expected in April.

"The MDC Master Jury Panel will be finalised and announced again by Penang state government in early February. After that, the selected winner will be appointed as the Lead Master Plan Designer, subject to the terms and conditions," he added.

Under the PSR project, the state government is proposing to reclaim about 1,821 hectares of the sea to build three islands south of the Penang International Airport towards the east around Permatang Damar Laut to create a land bank that will be utilised to finance the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) project.

The RM46 billion PTMP project entails the construction of an undersea tunnel connecting the island to the mainland, highways, light rail transit (LRT), monorail and a comprehensive bus network between the island and Seberang Perai.

- Bernama