Property Hunter Magazine August Issue 2014 | Page 24

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University Malaysia Sabah (UMS) aerial viex - photo credit: John Kong
mall is geared towards attracting
the lower- and middle-income
group that has built up in the
northern sector over the years.
Anchor tenants are all local brands
and rental rates are kept at a very
competitive level. The decision to
build a suburban mall away from
the city centre where the population
has a perceptibly higher level of
spending power is not lost on the
developer.
Chew Sang Hai of the Merdeka
Group notes that the target market
for Grand Merdeka may be those
who spend on lesser priced goods
because of their income generating
power but they tend to spend
more often because of the price
affordability range. Unlike 1Borneo
Hypermall that is integrated with
hotels and condominiums which
provides a ready market for its
upmarket retail brands, Grand
Merdeka will have to depend almost
entirely on the average income
populace which is in the majority
and in bigger numbers here.

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To attract shoppers to the mall,
access and ample parking space
is essential. To this end, Grand
Merdeka will be constructing
additional lanes to add to the
existing road access and up to 1,200
car parks for the ease and comfort
of its shoppers. These amenities
are also crucial to compensate
for the lack of an effective public
transportation system to the area.
Apart from commercial industries,
the northern corridor is also one
of the premier resort destinations
in Sabah. There are four luxury
beachfront resorts along its west
coast with only two having got
its own natural beach frontage.
Both these resorts – the Nexus
Karambunai Resort & Spa and
Shangri-la’s Rasa Ria Resort – are
located north of the city. Soon
to join in the fray is the Alila Dalit
Bay, Tuaran which is scheduled for
completion in the third quarter of
2016. The 152 suites hotel and 74
units of one and two bedrooms
luxurious villas will be constructed
on a parcel of land with conspicuous

Grand Merdeka Mall
view of the vast South China Sea.
This will be the first resort in Sabah
to be built by a local developer,
Tekun Cemerlang Sdn Bhd,
under the Malaysian Economic
Transformation Programme (ETP)
and managed by one of Asia’s most
dynamic luxury hotel management
brand, Alila Hotels and Resorts. The
increased number of luxury hotel
rooms and international branding

will uplift the profile of the northern
corridor as a preferred destination
in the global tourist market.
The increase in lifestyle standard
and availability of higher salaried
jobs in the area has also caused shift
in the property development sector.
The northern corridor has become
the new residential development
hotspot with high expectations for