[1] Modeled after KL Sentral in Kuala Lumpur, the first phase of Penang Sentral will serve as the terminal for both public and intercity buses, and is physically connected to the adjacent Butterworth railway station and the Penang Ferry terminal.

The project will eventually comprise an integrated terminal for all bus, rail and sea transportation services within Penang.

[2][3] Touted as the gateway to northern Malaysia by its developers, the Penang Sentral project was announced by the then Malaysian Prime Minister, Abdullah Badawi in 2007.

[5][6] Veritas Architects was put in charge of the design works of the proposed transit-oriented development, while the construction of Phase 1 was allocated to a subsidiary of MRCB, Penang Sentral Sdn Bhd.

Land acquisition became the main stumbling block, as the parcels of land earmarked for the development were owned by several parties, namely the Malaysian federal government, the Penang state government, highway concessionaires and Keretapi Tanah Melayu, the national railway operator.