UDA identifies up to five assets for renewal, citing Chinatown 1974 as model

PETALING JAYA (Sept 25): UDA Holdings Bhd has identified about four to five assets nationwide for renewal and reactivation, with its repositioning of the more than 40-year-old Tunas Utama building in Jalan Petaling cited as a model.

Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Steven Sim Chee Keong said he had asked UDA to explore ways to make better use of its older land and buildings. He warned against allowing ageing assets to keep incurring maintenance costs while attracting little activity.

The Tunas Utama building, which began operating in 1983, now houses Chinatown 1974, a commercial space with eight businesses in the food and beverage, wellness and hospitality sectors. Sim said the building had been unoccupied for about five years before its revival.

According to a statement issued after his visit on Thursday (Sept 24), Chinatown 1974 uses a master operator model. The operator manages the premises and helps participating entrepreneurs with business concepts, operations and relevant certifications and approvals.

Sim said the approach could give micro, small and medium enterprises access to commercial locations that attract visitors. He also cited UDA’s Heritage Valley in Kuala Lumpur as an example of modern business space intended to be accessible to smaller operators.

The statement did not identify the other assets, set a timetable for their renewal or state the cost of repositioning the Tunas Utama building.

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