Mapping the New Genting Highlands

Note: The original post have missing screenshots which have been omitted.

Major Edits in Resorts World Genting, Malaysia

Today I am going to announce a large change to the OpenStreetMap database. What is it? The complete removal of the old Genting Highlands Theme Park assets.

If you are using Bing, MapBox, or DigitalGlobe (Premium) satellite imagery, you are still seeing the old face of Genting theme park. However, if you use the standard DigitalGlobe imagery, you will see that everything has changed since 2015, the last time I visited this place.

I have to admit that adding and editing existing buildings and roads here are difficult. I ran into issues such as the traffic flow for vehicles exiting from the First World Hotel lobby. In making these changes, I relied on some sources:

• “Genting Highlands June 2018 and September 2018 Progress Update” videos by SouthernCorridorMalaysia on YouTube
• The indoor directory of Genting SkyAvenue, which can found from the official website here
• The concept art of 20th Century Fox World Malaysia

Comparison

Before the start of this project I compared the existing map of Genting Highlands on Google Maps and HERE WeGo.

Here are some notes after adding the changesets.

• HERE WeGo is still showing the former First World underground links, which also proven the existence of underground tunnels connected to roads near to the Avenue of Stars.
• These changesets are primarily based on DigitalGlobe Standard imagery, where Google Maps’ interpretation of Genting is based from. Hence, the new buildings (especially the SkyAvenue) might look similar to GMaps, even though they are directly traced against the imagery source.
• The new First World Plaza exit routes have been changed. Now it follows the former Outdoor Theme Park road located at the lakeside as shown in an older satellite imagery (see comments), to the Arena of Stars underground tunnel shown in HERE.
• There is a distortion in the satellite imagery around SkyCasino, which GMaps weren’t aware of and mapped the distorted building. The two YouTube videos, as well as the official SkyAvenue directory above prove the correct shape of the building.

What Has Changed in Genting?

Here are some highlights on major changes in Genting Highlands:

1. Closure of the old Genting Outdoor Theme Park [1]
2. Closure of the old First World Indoor Theme Park [2]
3. Renovation of the old Theme Park Hotel, which later changed its name to “Hotel On The Park” then reverted to its former name [2]
4. Construction and opening of Awana SkyCentral [2]
5. Construction and opening of SkyAvenue [1]
6. Construction and opening of Awana SkyWay, connecting Awana SkyCentral to SkyAvenue via Chin Swee Temple [2][3]
7. Construction and opening of Grand Ion Delemen Hotel [2]
8. Construction of the 20th Fox World Malaysia (Delayed) [1]
9. Construction and opening of Skytropolis, the new First World Indoor Theme Park [3]

[1] Shown on changesets mentioned in this article
[2] Already added/changed/deleted prior to this article
[3] Might have some mapping issues and/or planned to be edited soon

What Has Been Changed in OpenStreetMap?

A lot: see

Added “Genting SkyAvenue” and “Genting SkyCasino”

Note: The prefix word “Genting” is not neccessary, while this could ease people for searching this new shopping mall in Genting.

Genting SkyAvenue, or simply “SkyAvenue”, is a new shopping mall located at part of the former Outdoor Theme Park area. This mall, stretching from the First World Plaza to the Avenue of Stars, hosted many tenants that were previously available at the First World Plaza (FWP). Most of the FWP areas, such as the “Genting Walk”, has been closed for the opening of the new “Skytropolis” theme park.

Removed two “lakes” in the former Outdoor Theme Park area.

These “lakes” were built for water attractions on the theme park. Now they have been closed for the construction of the 20th Century Fox World Malaysia.

However, the Outdoor Theme Park roads that surrounds the larger lake has been added as the current exit path of First World Plaza (see comments)

Modified First World Hotel lobby exit paths

Initially, I thought that vehicles exiting from the First World Hotel are guided through the new tunnels at SkyAvenue to the gate where the First World Bus Terminal was built. After consulting with the SkyAvenue indoor directory, I agreed to modify the path to exit at the Arena of Stars.

There are future tenants opening at the Ground Level of SkyAvenue, which does not indicate any vehicle routes. However, the new elevated track is built near the former Bus Terminal, which directs the vehicles to the multi-storey parking area at SkyAvenue.

New Paths at 20th Century Fox World Malaysia

Here, I would also like to give a head start of the mapping progress of the future outdoor theme park.

At the first steps I added some paths that are most likely to be part of the main roads in this theme park, supported by the early concept images. I assigned these paths with highway:road before the theme park is finalized to the public.

At the end, here are a list of changesets for you to discover: #64266771, #64269329, #64269852, #64269863, #64270973, #64279712 and #64280005