2.png)
Iskandar Malaysia (Part 2 - Iskandar Development Region)
Under a proposed master plan spanning a period of 15 years, the RM19.2 billion Danga Bay project will be turned into an integrated waterfront city within the Iskandar Development Region. The development of two new components, Sanctuary Villas and Danga Bay Service Residence & Resort Hotel had also taken off in October and November 2007.
RM330million Sanctuary Villas, located on 70 acres on an island, will comprise bungalows and waterfront villas. The RM536million Danga Bay Service Residence & Resort Hotel will consist of three towers and a podium block and Ekovest Bhd is confident the project will bring in a return of about 35% based on their feasibility study.
Danga Bay is linked to all major highways such as the Skudai Highway and North South Expressway, and the Coastal Highway, which also links it to Bandar Nusajaya. To date, Ekovest Bhd has already put in construction works amounting to RM479 million in the Danga Bay development.
In another development, SP Setia Bhd had purchased 948.7 acres of freehold land in Pulai, a township that falls well within the IDR, for RM227.3 million or RM5.50 psf.
The land has been earmarked for the development of a RM2 billion eco-themed township project called Setia Eco Gardens. The new project will be developed on a joint-venture basis with Topasia Projects Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Bee Land Sdn Bhd.
SP Setia commands a strong position in the Johor Baru property market with three ongoing projects, viz., a) Setia Tropika, b) Setia Indah and c) Bukit Indah. According to group managing director Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, Johor Baru has traditionally been the company’s stronghold, contributing up to half of group sales. Hence with the IDR blueprint in place, the time was ripe for the company to further strengthen their foothold and sustain their position in Johor.
Another development coming up in the IDR soon will be the Berinda Group’s latest project, Park Precinct @ Impian Heights. The project offers 200 units within the Taman Impian Emas township in Johor and it features a fully secured two-tiered gated and guarded community with radio frequency identification (RFI) technology. RFI is an automatic identification method using radio waves to provide for positive identification and secured access into individual precincts and homes.
The 600-acre Impian Heights is set within the 3,000-acre Taman Emas township which is designed by the multi-awarded winning landscape architect Malik, Lip & Associates and is developed by Gunung Impian Development Sdn Bhd. The developer said Impian Heights was strategically located as it was easily accessible through the new Pontian Interchange while the North South Expressway was only five minutes away via the Skudai and Kempas interchanges. There is also a 27-hole golf course planned within the scheme. There is also a Residents’ Club, equipped with jacuzzis, saunas, tennis courts, spa and a swimming pool.
The Park Precinct features 80 double storey link houses under Park Terrace 1 with a launching price of RM298,000 each while 79 homes under Park Terrace II will be selling for RM338,000 upwards. The 40 units under Park Link Villa I will be priced from RM598,000 while vacant bungalow lots will be sold for RM65 psf. Meanwhile the 36 units under the Park Link Villa II are expected to be offered to the purchasing public at RM700,000 each sometime in January 2008.
At the Lido Beach in Johor Bahru, Central Malaysian Properties S/B (CMP) will develop Lido Boulevard, a RM2.7billion 1,052ha integrated waterfront city also sited within the Iskandar Development Region (IDR). CMP said work on the waterfront city, located on a 49.37ha beachfront site, will start in March 2008 and is expected to be completed by 2016. The project will stretch 2.4km along Lido Beach, from the now defunct Lot 1 Shopping Mall to the Harbour Master’s office. This flagship project by CMP is a joint-venture between CMP, the State Secretary and the landowner Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor. Touted as the Garden City of the south, the project will include landscaped gardens, water fountains and park-like amenities. This project comprises 4 main components, a) 8 blocks of luxury condominiums of varying floor levels, 18 to 26, and offering 914 units, b) waterfront office suites, c) a hotel and, d) a shopping mall.
Also in the plan are another 8 blocks of waterfront office suites of between 6 and 8 floors each, a 296-room hotel-cum-service residences, and a 3-storey waterfront retail complex. Incorporated within the mall will be an international-sized ice skating rink and a 32-lane bowling alley. One of the main attractions will be the 4,645 sq metre Indoor Snow Park which offers facilities for activities such as ice-sliding on toboggans and others.
In order for this mammoth project to be successful, CMP has plans to spend some RM150million to upgrade Jalan Sultan Abu Bakar which includes road-widening, constructing flyovers and pedestrian bridges and upgrading the seafront area. In its bid to uphold corporate social responsibility (CSR), CMP will initiate a RM1million trust fund that will be administered by an independent board of trustees that will address social and environmental issues arising from the development.
