Property Hunter Magazine September Issue 2014 | Page 94

/// West Malaysia Property News

Eco World Chosen to Develop Former Pudu Jail
Site Based on Expertise

UDA Holdings Bhd chose Eco World
Development Bhd to be part of the
redevelopment of the former Pudu jail
site due to the expertise of the latter’s
key personnel who were involved in the
London-based Battersea project while
they were with SP Setia.
SP Setia is developing the Battersea
project with Sime Darby Bhd and the
Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
UDA Holdings chairman Datuk Johari
Abdul Ghani said the company
invited Eco World to participate in the
redevelopment project, dubbed Bukit
Bintang City Centre, after it could not
find a suitable partner.
“When we did the RFP (request for
proposal), we found that the companies
did not fulfil our requirements. So we
started looking for the expertise, which
was the experience of developing a
project of similar size, as well as having
the financial strength,” he said at a
briefing yesterday (June 24).
StarBiz reported yesterday that UDA
would jointly develop the RM7 billion
gross development value project with
the EPF and Eco World.
U DA and Eco World will hold 40% equity
stake each in a special purpose vehicle,
while EPF will hold the balance 20%.
In September last year, UDA called for
parties to submit their proposals to
redevelop the site. Of the five companies
that submitted proposals, only three
were shortlisted.
The three were Malaysian Resources
Corp Bhd, the Naza Group and another
small company, said Johari.
Bukit Bintang City Centre will comprise
residential and commercial towers, a
one million sq ft mall, a retail centre,
a music and entertainment hub, a

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Country Garden Diamond City to Be
Launched in September

Malaysian grand bazaar, a mosque, al
fresco dining terraces and a food court.
One of the main features of the
development will be an 88-storey
tower comparable to the Burj Khalifa in
Dubai. The tower will feature strata title
offices, a 300 to 400-room hotel, and an
exclusive condominium.
The project will also have the advantage
of accessibility to public transportation
with light rail transit, mass rapid transit
and an underground bus terminal.
At least 50% of the contract work will
be awarded to qualified bumiputra
companies, he added.
“We would like to invite qualified
bumiputra contractors to participate in
the construction of the project,” he said.
Qualified bumiputra companies with
strong retail branding will also be given
priority to lease retail and commercial
spaces in Bukit Bintang City Centre.
Meanwhile, bumiputra retailers that
have yet to establish themselves in
retail branding will have the opportunity
to participate in the Malaysian bazaar
component of the development.
Johari said UDA, the landowner of the
8.1ha site, would manage the retail mall
and some office buildings to generate
recurring income. The project has a net
lettable area of 5.1 million sq ft.
He stressed that the land would still be
owned by the company after the project
was completed.
The Pudu jail redevelopment is part
of the Economic Transformation
Programme to turn the Klang Valley into
the Greater Kuala Lumpur economic
district and Malaysia into a high-income
nation by 2020.

Plot B of Country Garden
Diamond City in Semenyih,
Selangor, will be launch in
September by the Hong Konglisted Country Garden. As
reported by Business Times, the
project is upbeat on property
sales, against the backdrop of a
sound investment market.
Spanning 102ha, this freehold
development will be divided into
Plot A and B.
It is a 55:45 joint venture
between Country Garden and
Mayland Group.
Plot A was launched last
November, comprising 415 units
of luxury link houses, bungalows
and mansions worth about
RM710 million.
According to Country Garden
Malaysia regional sales and
marketing general manager You
Li, 70 per cent of the units were
sold during the first week of its
launch.
Each unit was sold for between
RM700,000 and RM5.4 million.
Eighty per cent of the buyers
were Malaysians and the rest
were from China.

“The joint venture decided to
keep the remaining units in Plot
A and are now opening them to
the market again,” said Li.
“The prices were increased
by over 20 per cent because
of on-going infrastructure
development and the entry of
big boys like Eco World Holdings
Group Bhd and SP Setia Bhd,
which is boosting property
prices here.
For Plot B, the joint venture
will have more than 500 units
of semi-detached homes and
bungalows, worth about RM1.7
billion.
Diamond City is supported
by facilities that include a
clubhouse and world-class
golf-themed landscape garden
elaborately designed by China’s
chief golf course designer.
Located opposite the University
of Nottingham Malaysia campus
and is 30km from Putrajaya and
45km from the Kuala Lumpur
city centre.

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