The George Town CBD is the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the commercial and business centre of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides with the "city ...

within George Town, the capital city of the state of

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 M ...

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federal constitutional monarchy consists of thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two regions: Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo's East Mal ...

. As the term implies, the CBD contains the highest concentration of financial and banking services within George Town, serving as the city's financial heart. Gurney Drive, George Town in 2018

Traditionally, Beach Street has been regarded as the

of George Town. One of the first streets to be created in

, Beach Street was where several international banks built their branches in the late 19th century. To this day, many of the banks remain along the street. In addition, within the vicinity of Beach Street, governmental buildings were constructed, making the area the administrative centre of

for much of the state's history. In recent decades, various banking, financial and auditing services have been concentrated at Northam Road as well, turning the road into George Town's second CBD. The adjoining

Gurney Drive Gurney Drive (,, ) is a popular seafront promenade within George Town, Penang, Malaysia. The road is also famous for the street cuisine at the seafront's hawker centre and has been listed as one of the 25 best streets worldwide to visit by the A ...

, with a high concentration of skyscrapers, also forms part of the city's newer CBD.

Historic CBD: Beach Street

The Map of Early Penang Showing the Malay Town on the South of the Town Center by Popham 1799

Historically, this district coincides with the particular area that was first explored and developed by Captain

Francis Light Captain Francis Light ( – 21 October 1794) was a British explorer and the founder of the British colony of Penang (in modern-day Malaysia) and its capital city of George Town in 1786. Light and his lifelong partner, Martina Rozells, were th ...

after his founding of

in 1786. It is centred at Beach Street and

Light Street Maryland Route 2 (MD 2) is the longest state highway in the U.S. state of Maryland. The route runs from Solomons Island in Calvert County north to an intersection with U.S. Route 1 (US 1)/ US 40 Truck ( North Avenue) in Baltimore. The route ...

, which are among the first streets to be created on

Penang Island Penang Island ( ms, Pulau Pinang; zh, 檳榔嶼; ta, பினாங்கு தீவு) is part of the state of Penang, on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. It was named Prince of Wales Island when it was occupied by the British Ea ...

. It is loosely bounded by

Pitt Street Pitt Street is a major street in the Sydney central business district in New South Wales, Australia. The street runs through the entire city centre from Circular Quay in the north to Waterloo, although today's street is in two disjointed sect ...

(now ''Jalan Masjid Kapitan Keling'') to the west, Chulia Street to the south and Weld Quay along the city's eastern shore. Penang hsbc bank

The CBD therefore covers the several international banks along Beach Street, such as

Standard Chartered Bank Standard Chartered plc is a multinational bank with operations in consumer, corporate and institutional banking, and treasury services. Despite being headquartered in the United Kingdom, it does not conduct retail banking in the UK, and around 9 ...

HSBC HSBC Holdings plc is a British multinational universal bank and financial services holding company. It is the largest bank in Europe by total assets ahead of BNP Paribas, with US$2.953 trillion as of December 2021. In 2021, HSBC had $10.8 tr ...

Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation Oversea-Chinese Banking Corporation, Limited (), often known as OCBC Bank (), is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation headquartered in OCBC Centre, Singapore. OCBC Bank was born out of the Great Depression t ...

United Overseas Bank United Overseas Bank Limited (), often known as UOB, is a Singaporean multinational banking corporation headquartered in Singapore, with branches mostly found in most Southeast Asian countries. Founded in 1935 as United Chinese Bank (UCB) by S ...

and

Bank of China The Bank of China (BOC; ) is a Chinese majority state-owned commercial bank headquartered in Beijing and the fourth largest bank in the world. The Bank of China was founded in 1912 by the Republican government as China's central bank, rep ...

, as well as administrative buildings like the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and the State Assembly Building, in a manner similar to the

Civic District The Civic District is a district located near the Singapore River in the Central Area of Singapore. It contains historical buildings and museums such as The Arts House (the former Parliament House), National Gallery Singapore (consisting of th ...

within

downtown ''Downtown'' is a term primarily used in North America by English speakers to refer to a city's sometimes commercial, cultural and often the historical, political and geographic heart. It is often synonymous with its central business district ...

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...

. The

, built in 1903, houses the head office of the

Penang Island City Council The City Council of Penang Island is the council that administers the city of Pulau Pinang, which includes the entirety of Penang Island, Malaysia. The city council, which has jurisdiction over an area of , falls under the purview of the Penang ...

, while the State Assembly Building is the meeting place of the

Penang State Legislative Assembly The Penang State Legislative Assembly is the legislature of the Malaysian state of Penang. It is a unicameral institution, consisting of a total of 40 elected lawmakers representing single-member constituencies throughout Penang. The state legi ...

. Due to the numerous Malaysian and international banks that operate within the CBD, George Town serves as the commercial centre for northern

. In addition, the CBD serves as a transportation hub within George Town. The city is linked with the

Malay Peninsula The Malay Peninsula ( Malay: ''Semenanjung Tanah Melayu'') is a peninsula in Mainland Southeast Asia. The landmass runs approximately north–south, and at its terminus, it is the southernmost point of the Asian continental mainland. The ar ...

via

Rapid Ferry The Penang Ferry Service is the oldest ferry service within the State of Penang, Malaysia, connecting the city of George Town on Penang Island and Butterworth on the mainland. This cross-strait transit has been operational since 1894, maki ...

, with its Ferry Terminal at Weld Quay. Right next to the Ferry Terminal is a

Rapid Penang Rapid Penang (styled as ''rapidPenang'') is a public bus brand in the Penang, State of Penang, Malaysia. Formed as a subsidiary of Prasarana Malaysia in 2007, to date it is the main public transport operator within Penang; its bus network serves ...

bus terminal, where most bus routes within

begin and terminate.

New CBD: Northam/
Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

In the 1990s, as George Town's banks began reassessing their spatial requirements to accommodate greater business volumes, a number of commercial developments commenced along Northam Road. The commercial skyscrapers along Northam Road quickly attracted various banking, auditing and other financial services, as the newer buildings offer more space and amenities that the colonial-era buildings at Beach Street lacked. By the early 2000s, Northam Road emerged the city's second CBD. In addition,

, which adjoins Northam Road and also has a high concentration of skyscrapers, is now considered as part of George Town's newer CBD. Plans have been drawn up to attract financial services to the popular seafront promenade, which already functions as one of the more prominent shopping streets in

. In 2016, the

Gurney Wharf Gurney Wharf is a planned seafront park, with land for this purpose currently being reclaimed off Gurney Drive in George Town, Penang. Intended as a "''new iconic waterfront destination for Penang''", Phase 1 of Gurney Wharf is scheduled for compl ...

project, which aims to create a seaside recreational park along

, was launched, with land reclamation ongoing off the shoreline. The accumulation of financial services along Northam Road and

is partly fueled by the inscription of the city centre as a

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...

since 2008. The new

rulings include a building restriction on construction works exceeding five storeys or 18 metres. As both Northam Road and

lie outside the

-protected site, commercial properties along these coastal roads are not impacted by the new building guidelines.

References

{{reflist, 30em George Town, Penang Central business districts

Historic CBD: Beach Street

New CBD: Northam/Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...

See also

References

New CBD: Northam/
Gurney A stretcher, gurney, litter, or pram is an apparatus used for moving patients who require medical care. A basic type (cot or litter) must be carried by two or more people. A wheeled stretcher (known as a gurney, trolley, bed or cart) is often ...