Sime Darby Bhd is one of four investors keen to develop Pulau Jerejak in Penang. Chief minister Lim Guan Eng said the other three investors are foreign parties from the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region, which will be backing local firms.

Pulau Jerejak is a 362ha island off the coast of Penang and once served as a penal and leper colony.

According to Lim, Sime Darby plans to invest in a tourism-related project. The developer is the first local conglomerate to express its interest on the holistic development of Jerejak.

The Northern Corridor Economic Region blueprint launched last year by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi states that the island has been earmarked for a premier medical tourism centre.

To date, only 32ha of the island has been developed in the form of Jerejak Resort and Spa, a joint venture between the Penang Development Corporation and USA Holdings.

Lim said the development of Jerejak would run into billions of ringgit and would span over 10 years. He added that the state government would likely open a tender for the project by year-end and interested parties may forward their proposals then.