THE Penang government today announced the establishment of the Penang Centre of Excellence (Penang CoEx), which will be a world-class centre in training, research and innovation, especially in smart city development in the state.

State housing, local government, and town and country planning committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo said this 81st smart initiative undertaken by the state government involved 100 initiatives to be achieved by the end of the year.

“The Penang CoEx is expected to focus on smart city management services and solutions, besides helping to develop and equip the local talents with the skills needed to succeed in the new norm. 

“It will be a skills upgrading service centre for entrepreneurs hoping to excel in fields related to 5G technology, the Internet of Things and artificial intelligence.

“It is also to serve as a ‘sandbox’ for the new 5G devices and also test cases such as for VR/AR technology, 8K video streaming, smart interactive display and mobile robots,” he told reporters in George Town today.

He said there would be research collaboration with industry players and institutions of higher learning, with the state government providing the site facilities and the institutions contributing their academic expertise.

Meanwhile, Jagdeep said the total collection through the Penang Smart Parking (PSP) application had now reached RM28 million since its launch on October 19, 2019 until October 15 this year for the e-coupons, monthly carpark fees and compounds.

“Since the PSP launch, we have undertaken a series of upgrading and are now in the process of upgrading the closed-circuit television cameras in the system,” he said, adding that the application had been downloaded by 643,996 users with 135,130 active. – Bernama, November 16, 2021.