The Lighthauz @ Gelugor, Penang
A 57-storey tower where the three-bedroom stacks — nine of every fifteen units — are the ones most likely to clear Penang Island's foreign-buyer floor, and the two-bedroom stack is not.
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The Lighthauz @ Gelugor, Penang at a glance
The thing worth understanding before anything else is that this tower splits cleanly in two for a non-Malaysian buyer. Penang Island sets a RM1,000,000 minimum purchase price for non-citizens acquiring strata property. The government housing register now carries this project — code 31088-1, 671 units over 57 storeys — with an advertising-permit band of RM890,000 to RM1,209,000: the band on the advertising permit, not the price of any unit, and it straddles the floor. Matched to the stack numbers on the developer's own typical floor plan, the register puts every 732 sq ft Type A unit below RM1,000,000 and every 1,001 sq ft Type B and C unit at or above it — and Types B and C together are nine of every fifteen units. So roughly six in ten units in this building can be open to a foreign buyer and four in ten cannot — the opposite shape to most of what is selling on the island.
- Development
- The Lighthauz @ GelugorServiced residence
- Developer
- EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd (1486857-W)Printed on the project's own contact page
- Storeys
- 57Government register, matching the Level 56 and 57 facility decks
- Typical floor
- 15 unitsType A x6 · Type B x5 · Type C x4
- Sizes
- 732 and 1,001 sq ft68 m² two-bedroom, 93 m² three-bedroom
- Layout variants
- SixA1 A2 B1 B2 C1 C2 — balcony and no-balcony pairs
- Tenure
- Not stated by the developerRecorded as “to be confirmed” from the approved brochure
- Advertising permit
- 31088-1/10-2028/0882(A)-(S)Valid 22 Oct 2025 to 21 Oct 2028 · government register
- Units
- 671Serviced apartments, 2–3 bed, 2 bath · government register
- Delivery period
- 60 monthsSchedule H: 36 months + 24-month approved extension · 10.59% built
Explore related topics
Curated hubs, each with its own guide — not auto-generated tag archives.
Six things about The Lighthauz worth knowing early
Three are reasons to look harder. Three are reasons to ask harder questions. Both sets come from the developer's own material.
Nine of fifteen units are three-bedroom
Types B and C are both 1,001 sq ft, three bed, two bath. In a Penang market where new towers are increasingly studios and dual keys, a floor plate that is 60% family-sized is a real differentiator on resale.
Sky pool at Level 56, lounge at 57
Astral Lagoon sky pool, Stargaze Soak jacuzzi and Mirage Bay wading pool on Level 56; Fun Hub and Horizon Lounge on 57. That is a two-storey crown, and it is the strongest single reason the tower is 57 floors tall.
The orientation is printed on the plan
North-west to Bukit Dumbar, west to Gelugor, south-east to the Penang Bridge, east across the strait. Most developers make you guess. Here it is labelled, which means you can pick a stack on evidence.
Tenure is genuinely unstated
The microsite and the corporate page never say freehold or leasehold. A portal working from the approved brochure recorded “to be confirmed”. All the agent material says freehold. That is an unresolved contradiction, not a formality.
Serviced residence probably means commercial title
This is classified as a serviced residence, and serviced residences in Malaysia sit on commercial land as a rule — commercial assessment, commercial utility tariffs, a lower bank margin. Probable is not confirmed. Get the master title.
It shares a VR tour with a sibling project
The official VR360 link covers Lighthauz and Keeperz Suites together, and the government register confirms the pairing: Keeperz Suites is project 31088-2 under the same licensee, 493 units in two 21-storey towers, 110 m straight-line from this tower on the register coordinates. Ask how the two buildings sit against each other before you buy a view.
The whole development, decoded
Fifteen units on a typical floor, and the developer's own plan tells you exactly how they are split: Type A takes units 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A and 15; Type B takes 3A, 05, 06, 07 and 08; Type C takes 01, 02, 03 and 09. Types B and C are both 1,001 sq ft three-bedroom units — they differ by orientation and internal arrangement, not by area. That is the single most useful piece of information on this page for anyone choosing a stack.
Three stacks on one floor plate
Type A stack · 732 sq ft
Units 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A and 15 on the developer's typical floor plate. Two bedrooms, two bathrooms, 68 square metres, in a balcony version (A1) and a no-balcony version (A2). This is the cheapest way into the building, and on the government register every Type A unit sits below Penang Island's RM1,000,000 floor — so it is also the part of the tower a non-citizen cannot buy.
Type B stack · 1,001 sq ft
Units 3A, 05, 06, 07 and 08. Three bedrooms, two bathrooms, 93 square metres, again split into a balcony version (B1) and a no-balcony version (B2). Same square footage as Type C — the difference is where it sits on the plate, and therefore what it looks at. On the government register every Type B unit is at or above Penang Island's RM1,000,000 foreign-buyer floor.
Type C stack · 1,001 sq ft
Units 01, 02, 03 and 09 — the smallest count of the three stacks, which usually means the ends of the plate. Same 1,001 sq ft three-bed two-bath as Type B, in C1 balcony and C2 no-balcony versions, and like Type B every unit is at or above the RM1,000,000 floor on the register. If aspect matters to you, this is the stack to ask about first, because scarcity and position usually travel together.
Four facility levels — 1, 9, 56 and 57
Taken verbatim from the numbered facilities plan EXSIM publishes for this project. The corporate gallery names some of the same rooms differently — Sky Lounge, Games Room and Study Room on exsim.com.my are the microsite's Horizon Lounge, Fun Hub and Mindspace. Same spaces, two naming conventions in official material.
Arrival
- Coastal Arrival
- Arrival Bay
- Horizon Lobby
Main facilities deck
- Stargazing & Yoga Deck
- Firelight Grillbar
- Breeze Walk
- Mindspace
- Children Discovery Play
- Readery Deck
- Breeze Lounge
- Serenity Garden
- Herbs Haven
- Coastal Fit
- Seaside Court
- Lumina Hall (multipurpose hall)
- Coastal Gym
Sky deck
- Aquora Deck
- Astral Lagoon (sky pool)
- Stargaze Soak (jacuzzi)
- Mirage Bay (wading pool)
Crown
- Fun Hub
- Horizon Lounge
Where the project is now
All 6 The Lighthauz @ Gelugor, Penang floor plans
Six variants, two sizes, and the difference inside each pair is the balcony. A1 has one, A2 does not; B1 has one, B2 does not; C1 has one, C2 does not. All sizes are read directly off the developer's own layout-plan titles. Per-type unit counts are not published, but the typical floor plate gives you the ratio, and the ratio is what matters when you are asking what is still available.
Type A1 — 732 sq ft with balcony
Get this floor plan
Type A2 — 732 sq ft without balcony
Get this floor plan
Type B1 — 1,001 sq ft with balcony
Get this floor plan
Type B2 — 1,001 sq ft without balcony
Get this floor plan
Type C1 — 1,001 sq ft with balcony
Get this floor plan
Type C2 — 1,001 sq ft without balcony
Get this floor planInside The Lighthauz @ Gelugor, Penang
Where The Lighthauz @ Gelugor, Penang sits
Gelugor, on the east coast of Penang Island, in the waterfront corridor between the Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and the Penang Strait. The developer's own orientation labels on its typical floor plan tell you more about the site than its address copy does: north-west toward Bukit Dumbar, west toward Gelugor, south-east toward the Penang Bridge, and east across the water to the mainland.
Pinned to the coordinates filed with the national housing register for project 31088-1, not to a nearby landmark. The distances beside the map are straight-line from that point, measured by me; drive times depend on the expressway and the hour.
- Keeperz Suites (same developer, project 31088-2)110 mstraight-line
- Lin Xiang Xiong Art Gallery190 mstraight-line
- Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu ExpresswayDirect accessdeveloper's own words
- Lam Wah Ee Hospital2.2 kmstraight-line
- Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM)2.8 kmstraight-line
- Penang Bridge4.1 kmstraight-line to the span
- KOMTAR, George Town4.5 kmstraight-line
- Queensbay Mall4.9 kmstraight-line
- Penang International Airport10.1 kmstraight-line
671 units, 10.59% built, licensed to EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd
The national housing register files The Lighthauz as project 31088-1: one serviced-apartment component of 671 units over 57 storeys, licensed to EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd (31088) — the same company building Keeperz Suites (31088-2) next door. The two figures this page once had to infer, the unit total and the storey count, are now on the public record.
| Project code | Registered name | Licensed developer | Advertising permit | Permit expires | Units | Bed / bath | Price band on the permit | Built | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 31088-1 | The Lighthauz | EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd (31088) | 31088-1/10-2028/0882(A)-(S) | 21 Oct 2028 | 671 | 2–3 / 2 | RM890,000 – RM1,209,000 | 10.59% | Lancar |
Swipe sideways to see the full table →
Read from teduh.kpkt.gov.my on 29 September 2026 (figures unchanged since 27 August 2026). Developer licence 31088/07-2030/0144(A), valid to 3 July 2030. Pull it yourself: teduh.kpkt.gov.my/semakan-status-kemajuan?kodProjek=31088-1
Foreign buyers: the band straddles Penang’s threshold
Penang’s minimum purchase price for a non-citizen buying a strata unit on the island is RM1,000,000. The permitted band here runs RM890,000 to RM1,209,000 — so part of the development qualifies and part of it does not.
That makes this a unit-level question. Do not accept “foreigners can buy at The Lighthauz” as an answer about the scheme. Ask about the specific unit at the specific price, and get it confirmed in writing before a booking fee.
10.59% built, permit running to October 2028
The percentage is EXSIM Waterfront’s own progress return to the ministry under the statutory 7(f) report. At this stage you are buying delivery, not a building — which makes the delivery clause in the sale and purchase agreement, and your liquidated damages entitlement, the most important part of the transaction.
Note today’s percentage, check again in three months, and check again before every progress payment your bank releases. It is the only figure in a new-build purchase you can verify yourself from a public source.
The licensed entity
EXSIM is a brand across many project companies; the licence here is held by EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd. That is the counterparty in your agreement and the name to use for a company search.
Every Type A unit is below RM1,000,000; every Type B and C unit is at or above it
The register lists a permitted price for each of the 671 units. Matched to the stack numbers on the developer's typical floor plan, all 264 Type A units (732 sq ft) fall below Penang Island's non-citizen floor, and all 225 Type B and 182 Type C units (1,001 sq ft) are at or above it — 264 + 225 + 182 = 671, so the floor plan and the register reconcile. These are permit figures, not the price on the day; the state assesses the price in your SPA.
Schedule H, and the delivery clock is already 60 months
The sale and purchase agreement is Schedule H (strata). The register records the statutory 36-month delivery period and an approved 24-month extension, 60 months in all. Counted from the first SPA on 14 November 2025, vacant possession is due by 14 November 2030. Your own SPA date is the one your delivery clause and liquidated damages run from, so check it.
About EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd (EXSIM Group)
The developer entity printed on the project's own contact page is EXSIM Waterfront Sdn. Bhd. (1486857-W), operating out of Level 35 of EXSIM Tower at Millerz Square, Old Klang Road, Kuala Lumpur, with a Penang sales gallery in MBF Tower on Jalan Sultan Ahmad Shah. The registration series points to a company incorporated around 2022 — this is a project vehicle, not the group's balance sheet.
EXSIM's record on product is strong and I will say so: FIABCI world-level awards, GreenRE certifications on other developments, and a genuine specialism in making small floor plates work. The facilities programme here is unusually ambitious — a sky pool and jacuzzi at Level 56 and a lounge at Level 57 is not a common specification even in Kuala Lumpur.
The disclosure record is weaker, and there are three specific things you should know. First, neither lighthauz.com.my nor exsim.com.my prints the advertising and sale permit — but the government register does: 31088-1/10-2028/0882(A)-(S), valid to 21 October 2028, under developer licence 31088/07-2030/0144(A). Second, the developer never states the tenure — a Penang portal working from the KPKT-approved brochure recorded it as “to be confirmed”, while every agent site asserts freehold. Third, the microsite has copy-paste defects: its disclaimer page still carries the template from a different EXSIM project, linking to that project's brochure and closing with that project's copyright line.
The e-brochure exists at lighthauz.com.my and on the EXSIM corporate site. It is eighteen pages of raster images with no text layer at all, so the statutory block, if it is in there, is inside a picture. The licence and permit numbers are in the register section above, as text.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreigner buy at The Lighthauz?
The three-bedroom types, yes on the permit figures. The two-bedroom type, no. Penang Island sets a minimum purchase price of RM1,000,000 for a non-citizen buying strata property, and that includes Malaysian permanent residents.
The government register gives the project a permit band of RM890,000 to RM1,209,000 and a permitted price for every unit. Matched to the stack numbers on the developer's floor plan, every 1,001 sq ft Type B and C unit is at or above the floor, and every 732 sq ft Type A unit is below it.
That is the permit, not a price list. The unit you are shown, at the price written into your SPA, is what the state will assess — get the specific unit confirmed in writing before a booking fee.
Budget beyond the price too: the Penang state levy on approval is 3% of the price, reduced to 1.5% for island strata between RM1,000,000 and RM1,500,000 — which is where every eligible unit here falls on the permit band — plus the flat 8% stamp duty for non-citizens on residential property since 1 January 2026. A foreign owner may resell only after three years, with state consent.
Is it 56 or 57 storeys?
57, and the developer's own facilities plan settles it. The plan lists facilities on Level 56 — Astral Lagoon sky pool, Stargaze Soak jacuzzi, Mirage Bay wading pool — and on Level 57, Fun Hub and Horizon Lounge. A Level 57 facility deck requires a 57-storey building.
The government register now states it outright: 57 storeys. Some marketing material says 56; the drawing and the register agree with each other, so use them.
Which stack should I choose?
Start from the floor plate, because EXSIM has actually labelled the orientations on it. North-west looks toward Bukit Dumbar. West looks over Gelugor. South-east looks toward the Penang Bridge. East looks across the strait to the mainland.
Then use the unit numbering. Type A is units 10, 11, 12, 13, 13A and 15. Type B is 3A, 05, 06, 07 and 08. Type C is 01, 02, 03 and 09.
Type C is the scarcest at four units a floor, which usually means the ends of the plate and therefore the wider aspect. Type A is the cheapest entry. Types B and C are the same 1,001 sq ft, so between them the decision is purely about what you look at and how far you walk to the lift.
Send me the floor you are considering and I will tell you what is left in each stack on that level rather than in general.
What is the price and the completion date?
The developer publishes no price list. The only public price information is the government permit band, RM890,000 to RM1,209,000 — the band on the advertising permit, not the price of any unit. I take the current price for a specific unit directly from the developer and send you that.
Completion now has a statutory answer. The SPA is Schedule H with a 36-month delivery period, and the register records an approved 24-month extension — 60 months in all. Counted from the first SPA on 14 November 2025, vacant possession is due by 14 November 2030.
Progress on the register is 10.59% built and on track (Lancar), and site photographs have been published for Q2 and Q3 2026.
Is it freehold?
The developer does not say, and that is the honest answer. Neither the project microsite nor the EXSIM corporate page states a tenure anywhere. A Penang portal working from the KPKT-approved brochure recorded the land tenure as “to be confirmed” in November 2025. Every agent site says freehold.
This is not me being pedantic. Between a freehold title and a 99-year lease with 80 years left, the difference in bank margin, resale pool and long-run value is substantial. If it is freehold, one sentence in writing from the developer settles it.
I will ask for that sentence, and I will forward you the reply rather than summarise it.
Residential or commercial title?
Not officially stated. The product is classified as a serviced residence, and serviced residences in Malaysia are, as a rule, built on Bangunan Perniagaan — commercial — land.
If that is the case here, expect a commercial assessment rate from the local council, commercial water and electricity tariffs, and a bank margin of financing that is typically lower than for a residential-titled condominium. Over a ten-year hold, the utility difference alone on a 1,001 sq ft family unit is not trivial.
Probable is not confirmed. Ask for the master title or have your solicitor run a title search before the deposit, and price the answer into your offer.
What is the maintenance fee?
Not published by the developer, and I will not repeat the unverified figures on third-party sites — they differ from each other by more than double. The spread matters: on a 1,001 sq ft unit, every 10 sen per square foot is about RM100 a month of holding cost.
A tower with a Level 56 sky pool, a Level 57 lounge and a thirteen-item Level 9 deck is expensive to run. Get the rate in writing before you sign, and ask what is included.
How does this compare with Noordinz Suites, the same developer's George Town project?
They are aimed at completely different buyers, and both are now on the government register under their own EXSIM licences.
Noordinz is project 30571-1: 603 units in a 29-storey tower, permit band RM682,870 to RM1,084,335, 45.37% built — 377 sq ft studios and 603 sq ft dual keys, a rental-yield product on the Weld Quay waterfront in George Town.
The Lighthauz is project 31088-1: 671 units over 57 storeys, band RM890,000 to RM1,209,000, 10.59% built — nine of every fifteen units are 1,001 sq ft three-bedroom homes, in Gelugor, under a two-storey facility crown.
For a non-Malaysian the difference is decisive: here two of the three stacks are at or above the RM1,000,000 island floor on the register, while the top of the Noordinz band only just clears it. Delivery differs too — the register gives Noordinz 48 months and The Lighthauz 60.
Ask both the same questions about tenure and title, and compare the answers, not the brochures.
What has not been verified on this page?
I would rather list it than let you find out later. The unit total (671), the storey count (57), the permit and the delivery period are now confirmed by the government register. The per-type totals on this page (264 Type A, 225 Type B, 182 Type C) are my own reconciliation of the register's unit list against the developer's floor plan. Still unpublished by the developer: tenure, land title category, maintenance fee, car park ratio and lift count.
Lift and parking figures circulate on third-party sites; I could not verify any of them. With 671 units over 57 floors, the lift count is the first thing I would check at the sales gallery.
Also note: a travel-guide site that looks authoritative on this project is AI-generated aggregation with agent microsites as its only references. It is not an independent source and I have not used it as one.
Which stack, and are you allowed to buy it?
For this tower the two questions collapse into one. If you are not Malaysian, the answer starts with the 1,001 sq ft stacks and I will tell you which of B and C faces where. If you are Malaysian, the 732 sq ft Type A is the cheaper entry and the whole floor plate is open to you. Either way, tell me your budget and which direction you want to face and I will come back with what is actually left.
No agent fee payable by the buyer on new developer launches
Louis Koh
11 years in Malaysian property · Johor Bahru & Kuala Lumpur new launches · English & 中文
I work with cross-border buyers from Singapore and with local investors. I'll tell you when a project isn't right for you — that's usually worth more than the brochure.
Published 2026-08-12 · Last verified 2026-09-29 against EXSIM Waterfront Sdn Bhd (EXSIM Group)'s published project material and the government housing register (project 31088-1). Unit availability, pricing and completion dates are set by the developer and subject to change. This page is marketing information, not an offer or a contract.
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Developer: EXSIM Group (19 developments on this site)
Where it is: Gelugor, Penang
The unit mix, the permitted price and how far up it is
None of this table is the developer’s account of itself. It is what the Ministry of Housing and Local Government records from the 7(f) returns: unit type, bedrooms and bathrooms, built-up area, unit count, the price range on the permit, and the certified percentage complete. A brochure price can be revised; the price on the permit was filed. A brochure need not mention progress; the percentage is certified. The status vocabulary is theirs too: Lancar (on schedule), Lewat (behind), Sakit (sick), Terbengkalai (abandoned).
31088-1 · THE LIGHTHAUZ
Overall status: Lancar — on schedule
| Component | Bed / bath | Built-up | Units | Price on the permit | Complete |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pangsapuri Servis 57 storeys Lancar | 2, 3 / 2 | — | 671 | RM890,435.00 – RM1,208,911.00 | 10.59% |
Swipe the table sideways for the rest of the columns.
This is the document the developer had to file, and the housing department had to approve, before it was allowed to advertise at all — served from the ministry’s own host. It normally carries the location plan, the developer licence and building-plan approval references, the expected completion date, the encumbrance position, and the unit count and price floor and ceiling for each type. The brochure a salesperson hands you can be reissued. This one cannot.
Read from teduh.kpkt.gov.my on 2026-09-26, project code 31088-1. Re-read weekly.
What to do with the number. Read it against the delivery date in your own agreement, not against what a salesperson says. A project with a year left on its statutory clock and a third of the building up is telling you something the brochure will not.
How does that compare? Every development on this site, grouped by register status — cancelled, abandoned and behind schedule first.