BBCC signing

KUALA LUMPUR (March 28): Despite the gloomy outlook on Malaysia’s economy, two major Japanese investors will invest substantially into the landmark redevelopment of Pudu Jail at Bukit Bintang here that is backed by the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).

BBCC Development Sdn Bhd had inked the head of terms of agreement with Mitsui Fudosan Group subsidiary Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Pte Ltd and Sony Music subsidiary Zepp Hall Network Inc to develop a 1.4 million sq ft lifestyle mall and a concert hall that can house over 2,000 audience respectively, in the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) development today.

“Despite the slowdown of China’s economy and the weakened ringgit, we believe that the personal consumption of Malaysians is still very high with the higher number of young people,” Mitsui Fudosan Asia managing director Takehito Fukui told TheEdgeProperty.com. on the sidelines of the event.

“2015 saw a 5% growth rate in Malaysia’s gross domestic product, and we foresee a higher economic growth in Malaysia in the near future,” he added.

According to Takehito, the group also believes Malaysia is the right place to invest due to its great location and the encouraging response to its Mitsui Outlet Park in KLIA, Sepang.

“We will be bringing in Japanese brands to the mall, and with our tremendous experience in mall design, management and operation skills as well as our relationship with a large network of Japanese and international retailers, the partnership will help BBCC realise the best mall design with the best tenant mix and management standards,” he said.

Mitsui and BBCC Development are proposing to develop the retail mall under the Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport brand -- a regional mall concept first conceived by Mitsui Fudosan about 35 years ago, which evolved from “a place where people gather” to “a place where people interact”.

According to BBCC Development’s CEO Datuk Richard Ong, the estimated gross development cost (GDC) of the mall and concert hall is RM1.6 billion and RM400 million respectively.

“We will commence work sometime in the third quarter of this year and the mall is set to be completed in 2021,” said Ong.

The mall will be developed under a joint-venture between Mitsui and the shareholders of BBCC – EcoWorld Development Group Bhd (40%), UDA Holdings Bhd (40%), and the EPF (20%) – for the development, ownership and operation of the retail mall through an establishment of a joint-venture company (JVCo).

The JVCo will be 50% owned by Mitsui while the remaining stake will be owned by the shareholders of BBCC, with the RM1.6 billion GDC split equally as well.

The group also aims to launch its other phase 1 component – two blocks of 680 units of entry level apartments starting from 450 sq ft and a 45-storey office tower with 350 units of 715 sq ft to 1,423 sq ft offices sometime before the middle of this year.

“The prices of the offices are set to be at approximately RM1,400 to RM1,500 psf; we are still in the midst of setting the price of the residential component. We have received quite a good response of interest for our office units,” said Ong.

The serviced apartments have opened for registrations of interest last weekend.

BBCC Development also inked a memorandum of understanding with international serviced residence owner-operator, The Ascott Ltd (Ascott), a member of Singapore’s CapitalLand today.

BBCC sits on 19.4 acres of land and has a gross development value of RM8.7 billion.

It is being developed by a consortium comprising UDA Holdings Bhd, Eco World Development Group Bhd and the EPF in a 40:40:20 share structure.

The signing ceremony between BBCC Development and Mitsui Fudosan and Zepp Hall Network was also attended by Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor, Minister of Federal Territories; Datuk Mohd Shafie Abdullah, chairman of UDA and Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin, chairman of Eco World Development Group.

The planning approval for the project, obtained in August last year, comprises six blocks of serviced apartments, a retail and entertainment block, a four-star hotel with branded residences, a strata office and an 80-storey 3-in-1 signature tower housing a five star hotel, luxury residences and corporate offices.

The development is located at the intersection of Jalan Imbi and Jalan Pudu, on the site of the former Pudu Jail, which currently has direct access to the Hang Tuah LRT and monorail stations as well as being linked to the proposed Merdeka MRT station.

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BBCC signing

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