Media Release

Roll-em! New Pinewood Iskandar Studios Open

Malaysia

PENETRON technology helps vault Malaysia into the entertainment industry

The Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios is a state-of-the-art film and television studio and production facility that will serve the entertainment industry across the Asia Pacific region. Crystalline concrete waterproofing technology from PENETRON helped make the ambitious project a reality.

Located in Johor Bahru, right across from Singapore, the flagship Iskandar Malaysia development project is slated to open later this year. It was financed by cinema giant, The Pinewood Group (the company behind the Batman, Harry Potter and recent James Bond films), and the investment arm of the Malaysian government, Khazanah Nasional.

With a wide range of stunning locations easily accessible from the studios and the nearby production support hub of Media@Medini, Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios will be the new destination facility for the production of filmed entertainment across the Southeast Asia region. The facility includes:

  • Five stages ranging from 1,400 to 2,800m, all including interior water tanks (for underwater filming)
  • Two TV studios with high-definition production equipment and audience capacity for 1,400 people
  • 3,150m of floor space for production offices, dressing, and hair & make-up rooms
  • A 3,300m workshop
  • Post-production facilities include editing rooms and a screening theater
  • The 2-acre studio area also has 30 acres (12.14 hectares) of natural forest

PENETRON Goes to the Movies

The studio buildings are located in close proximity to a river and the construction site featured a relatively high water table. The project also included large underground pools (used for filming purposes). Approximately 13,388m3 of PENETRON ADMIX were poured into the basement concrete structure, 2,008m of wet areas were treated with PENETRON and the 4,107m poured concrete roof was sprayed with PENESEAL PRO.

PENETRON products were selected by the design team headed by Malaysia’s leading architectural firm, GDP Architects. Bovis, one of the world’s largest construction companies, provided key consultancy, and Web Structures served as the structural engineers for the project.

“The Pinewood Iskandar Malaysia Studios is a high profile project for the Malaysian government and for the movie industry in Asia,” notes Robert Revera, President and CEO of the PENETRON Group. “We are confident this studio will become a historic part of the global movie industry and serve as the site of many iconic films in years to come. We’re proud to be part of the project and to have contributed, in a small way, to the magic of movies.”