New use for old building

The entourage visiting around the Wisma Yeap Chor Ee in George Town.

PENANG Development Corporation (PDC) is financing the restoration of the Wisma Yeap Chor Ee heritage building in George Town at a cost of RM5mil.

Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng said the restoration was expected to be completed by the end of this year or the first quarter of next year.

He said property owner Wawasan Open University had signed a lease agreement with PDC which would transform the 3,939.27sq m building into a centre for Creative Animation Triggers (CAT).

“The space will be necessary to house the Penang Science Cafe operated by Penang Science Cluster,” said Lim after witnessing the signing ceremony at the building on Sunday.

“It will develop and build an interactive connection between science and students as well as the creative industries,” added Lim.

He also said that the aim of the investment was to encourage the production of content to build a thriving and lucrative creative multimedia industry.

“The monthly rental of the building is RM42,402, with an increase of 10% once every three years for 30 years,” he said.

The CAT centres in George Town are planned by the Penang government to better position the state for opportunities in the creative multimedia industry.

It was reported that Penang-based digital interactive entertainment companies were positioning themselves with expansion plans and new products to tap into the growing local creative multimedia industry.

The market is projected to grow to US$9.35mil (RM30mil) by 2016. - The Star