Its annual operating cost is RM 57 million. They have the potential to improve human capital and innovation outcomes in Penang. The aim is to build a “Healthy Bertam Region” including a residential area and lifestyle and recreational centre, with AMDI spearheading the health industry. Partly due to the distance from Universiti Sains Malaysia, AMDI recruits its staff increasingly from outside of the region. This can have a detrimental effect on research-education linkage.