Penang's Hotel Constructed in 1926 to be Re-developed

PDC talking terms with potential Hotel 1926 operator

PENANG Development Corporation (PDC) has identified a potential local bumiputra hotel operator to run Hotel 1926 in Burmah Road.

PDC general manager Datuk Rosli Jaafar said they were currently negotiating the terms with the operator and would finalise it within a month.

“The hotel will have to undergo repair and renovation works for three months before it can be opened to the public,” he said.

Rosli said the building was infested with termites when PDC took back the hotel in late 2006.

“We had to spent RM25,000 to hire a pest control company to exterminate the termites and maintain the building for a year.

“We spent RM9,198 monthly for a 24-hour security to prevent break-ins and to keep drug addicts out,” he added.

Rosli said PDC vetted more than 10 applications from various operators.

“We want someone with a good track record and has experience in hotel management,” he said.

He said it would be the operator’s decision on how to package the hotel, but it would definitely not going to be a budget hotel.

“Till now there has been no talk about changing the hotel’s name and we are hoping that its original name will be maintained,” he said.

The hotel ceased operations and was left vacant after its management Kompas Mutiara Sdn Bhd was served with a writ of seizure and sale on July 21, 2005.

The writ executed a High Court order dated May 31, 2005, instructing Kompas Mutiara pay PDC RM1,734,164 in rental arrears and commission, plus interest.

The hotel management was also ordered to vacate the premises as its lease had ended on July 31, 2004.

PDC recovered possession of the property in December 2006. Constructed in 1926, the building at the junction of Burmah Road and Immigration Road was a former residence of colonial officers.

It was later used as quarters for civil servants and eventually left unattended until it was restored in 1997 and converted into a hotel two years later.

Source : STAR
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