Angry Birds theme park to open in Johor Baru

JOHOR BARU: Damansara Assets Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Johor Corp (JCorp), will open an Angry Birds Theme Park at Johor Baru City Centre (JBCC) by May next year.

JCorp president and CEO Datuk Kamaruzzaman Abu Kassim said the development of the theme park, the first in Southeast Asia, is a joint venture with the maker of the Angry Birds game, Finland-based Rovio Entertainment Ltd.

“The indoor theme park, covering 26,000 sq ft, will be located on the third floor of JBCC,” he told reporters after witnessing the signing of an MoU between Damansara Assets and Rovio Entertainment yesterday.

Damansara Assets was represented by executive director Yusaini Sidek and Rovio Entertainment by COO Harri Koponen.
Kamaruzzaman said the theme park would go well with the shopping mall that is being developed at JBCC, formerly Kompleks Tun Abdul Razak (Komtar), and JCorp is proud Rovio Entertainment has agreed to its development.

“The Angry Birds characters, introduced in Finland, are now well-known by all age groups worldwide. This is suitable for JBCC, which is patronised by customers both local and foreign,” he said.

He said the RM500 million JBCC development, comprises a shopping mall; two multi-storey buildings, Menara Komtar, which is being renovated, and a new building, Menara Johor Land; and a four-star hotel.

Kamaruzzaman said several parties, including Metrojaya, Royal Selangor Pewter and Tony Roma’s restaurant have agreed to operate there.

Koponen said there are four Angry Birds theme parks in operation in Finland and Rovio Entertainment is happy to be involved in the development in Johor Baru.

He said details on the design of the theme park will be announced soon. The park will have an activity area, shops selling souvenirs and rooms for events. — Bernama