The Komtar Skywalk is the highest outdoor glass sky walk in

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

. It is located at the top of

Komtar The Tun Abdul Razak Complex, ( Malay: Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak; Chinese: 光大大厦; Tamil: கொம்டார் கோபுரம்); colloquially known by its Malay acronym Komtar, formerly known as the Penang New Urban Center and t ...

, the tallest skyscraper in George Town,

Penang Penang ( ms, Pulau Pinang, is a Malaysian state located on the northwest coast of Peninsular Malaysia, by the Malacca Strait. It has two parts: Penang Island, where the capital city, George Town, is located, and Seberang Perai on the Malay ...

. The horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge with a glass walkway sits at an elevation of above ground. Launched in 2016, the Komtar Skywalk, also known as the Rainbow Skywalk, was part of the major facelift of

undertaken by Only World Group, a local

private limited A private limited company is any type of business entity in "private" ownership used in many jurisdictions, in contrast to a publicly listed company, with some differences from country to country. Examples include the '' LLC'' in the United Sta ...

firm specialising in food and beverages. The U-shaped 16 metre-long glass walkway offers visitors an unimpeded panoramic view of the cityscape of George Town, its surrounding suburbs such as

Tanjung Tokong Tanjung Tokong is a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. It is located along the northeastern coast of Penang Island, next to Pulau Tikus and northwest of the city centre. Over the recent decades, the former fishing village has been transfo ...

Pulau Tikus Pulau Tikus is a northwestern suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. Situated between the city centre and Tanjung Tokong, this upper class suburb was named after a rock just off the coast of Penang Island. It is home to small minorities of ...

and

Air Itam Ayer Itam (also spelt Air Itam or Air Hitam) is a suburb of George Town in Penang, Malaysia. Nested within the central valleys of Penang Island, it is located approximately southwest of the city centre. Ayer Itam is one of the well-known place ...

, and the

Penang Hill Penang Hill is a hill resort comprising a group of peaks near the center of Penang Island, Malaysia. It is located within the Air Itam suburb, west of the center of George Town. Penang Hill is also known by the Malay name ''Bukit Bendera'', w ...

Design and construction

In 2012, Only World Group (OWG) was awarded the RM50 million project to revitalise

, which until then had been largely seen as a white elephant.http://profile.nus.edu.sg/fass/socgohd/trans_2.1.pdf This major renovation effort was aimed to rejuvenate

as a tourist attraction in George Town, and included the construction of a banquet hall, a sky lounge at the 65th floor and an international-themed restaurant at the summit of the

skyscraper A skyscraper is a tall continuously habitable building having multiple floors. Modern sources currently define skyscrapers as being at least or in height, though there is no universally accepted definition. Skyscrapers are very tall high-ris ...

. These new tourist attractions are collectively known as The Top'''. The U-shaped Komtar Skywalk is situated at the newly added 68th floor of

, which also elevated the

's height to . The Komtar Skywalk is similar in construction to the

Grand Canyon Skywalk The Grand Canyon Skywalk is a horseshoe-shaped cantilever bridge with a glass walkway at Eagle Point in Arizona near the Colorado River on the edge of a side canyon in the Grand Canyon West area of the main canyon.Yost, Mark.Close to the Edge ''W ...

, in that both bridges use the same heat-treated and temper-proofed

laminated glass Laminated glass (LG) is a type of safety glass that holds together when shattered. In the event of breaking, it is held in place by a thin polymer interlayer, typically of polyvinyl butyral (PVB), ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA), lonoplast polymer ...

. The

-based

Universiti Sains Malaysia Universiti Sains Malaysia ( 'Science University of Malaysia'; abbreviated as USM) is a public research university in Malaysia. Founded on 1 June 1969 as a statutory body with its own constitution, it is among the oldest institutes of higher l ...

also ran an array of pendulum, wind and vibration tests on the glass, which was designed to withstand the load of 16 adults. In addition, three high-speed bubble lifts were installed along

's facade, one of which connects level 59 with the 68th floor. While the bubble lifts were originally designed with a transparent glass wall to allow for a panoramic view of George Town on the way up, the lifts were then completely concealed in 2016 in accordance with a safety advice by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health."JKKP 基於安全考量光大觀景電梯改封閉式", 光明日報 Guangming Daily
/ref> The Komtar Skywalk was opened to the public on 18 December 2016 in a ceremony attended by the

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of OWG, Richard Koh, and the

Chief Minister of Penang The Chief Minister of Penang is the head of government in the Malaysian state of Penang. According to convention, the chief minister is the leader of the majority party or largest coalition party of the Penang State Legislative Assembly. The chie ...

Lim Guan Eng Lim Guan Eng (; born 8 December 1960) is a Malaysian politician and accountant from the Democratic Action Party (DAP), a component party of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition who has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Bagan, Member of the ...

Access

The Komtar Skywalk can be accessed between 11am and 10pm daily. The standard entry fares for Malaysians and foreigners are as follows.

References

{{Reflist}

External links

Komtar Skywalk
Glass architecture Bridges completed in 2016 Buildings and structures in George Town, Penang Tourist attractions in George Town, Penang Observation decks

Design and construction

Access

See also

References

External links