CHIEF Minister Lim Guan Eng was at the @CAT housed within Wisma Yeap Chor Ee for Penang Hill’s Design-A-Thon 2017 which took place on Oct 29.
The event aimed to allow youngsters, especially university students, to showcase their passion and enthusiasm in presenting solutions for Penang Hill for its crowd handling and visitor experience.
Participants in the event were from Disted College, Equator Academy of Art, Inti International College Penang, KDU Penang University College and Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM).
In his speech, the chief minister noted the suitability of the event as visitor figures to Penang Hill is projected to increase and therefore, new measures in crowd management are needed.
“In the first nine months of this year, Penang Hill recorded approximately 1.2 million visitors – an increase of 9% in comparison with the same period in 2016. At this rate, Penang Hill will likely host over 1.7 million visitors in 2017 from all over the world in comparison with 1.6 million in 2016,” he said.
“The programmes and facilities available in @CAT are gaining popularity among the start-up community in Penang and also internationally.
As at September 2017, due to high demand, the co-working space which opens 24/7 and which had recently been increased to 70 seats has an average daily occupancy rate of 94%,” the chief minister added.
Also present at the event were Datuk Seri Lee Kah Choon who’s Special Adviser to the Chief Minister, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) mayor Datuk Maimunah Mohd Sharif, Penang Hill Corporation general manager Cheok Lay Leng and @CAT programme director Howie Chang.