Rise of Batu Kawan

Roadmap to the future: An aerial view showing vast development taking shape around the “four-leaf clover” design interchange in Batu Kawan, with the second Penang Bridge and fish farms seen in the background. — Filepix

ONCE a backwater town in south Seberang Prai, Batu Kawan in Penang is rapidly shedding its quiet agricultural past, thanks to carefully planned development projects that hope to turn it into a smart eco-city.

In the early to mid-1900s, coconut and rubber plantations dotted the area in mainland Penang before they were replaced by oil palm plantations in the 1960s.