the district hospital in Seberang Jaya, and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council headquarters in Bandar Perda.
In July 31, 1988, the passenger platform of the Sultan Abdul Hamid Ferry Terminal collapsed which injured more than 1,600 persons and 32 lives were lost. This tragedy is due to excessive crowding of pilgrims heading to two separate religious festivities, which is the Kwan Yin Goddess festival in George Town and St. Anne's Feast in Bukit Mertajam. In 2001, a fire destroyed a three-storey bus station cum shopping centre near the ferry terminal.
Today, Butterworth is a town suffering from decentralization with administrative and commercial centres shifted to nearby suburbs such as Seberang Jaya, Prai and Kepala Batas. Recently, the RM2bil Penang Sentral project is set to be proposed at the current site of the ferry terminal, bus terminal and railway station which is set to be the modern transportation hub for the Northern Corridor Economic Region
