Sunrise to step up growth at ‘Stage 3’

KUALA LUMPUR: Sunrise Bhd will be stepping it up a gear this year as it enters its next level of growth. During this “Stage 3” growth period, Sunrise will be building both commercial and residential products in various locations, said executive chairman Tong Kooi Ong (pictured) at an analysts briefing on Jan 28

He said the company would be looking at developing land on its own or via joint ventures in areas beyond Mont'Kiara, Kuala Lumpur, where it had made its name in developing high-end high-rise residences.

It will kick start Stage 3 growth with Solaris Tower in Kuala Lumpur and an integrated project in Canada, which is scheduled for launch this year. Solaris Tower is a strata office development on a 1.81-acre plot near Jalan Sultan Ismail in Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, the integrated project in Canada is on a 4.84-acre land in Richmond, Vancouver, comprising mainly smaller-sized condo units and some commercial space.
To be launched in two phases over three years, the project has a gross development value (GDV) of about RM1.13 billion.

Going forward to 2011 and beyond, besides a proposed 20.95-acre joint venture development in Bukit Jelutong, it also has plans to develop a 58-acre site in Kajang (near The Mines) in Selangor, the Angkasaraya building site in the KLCC area as well as three other projects in Mont'Kiara.

Tong added that Sunrise is eyeing not only opportunities in the country, but also overseas.

"We are looking into China, but we are very cautious. We have identified one to two areas but nothing is concrete," he said. The developer is also looking at prospects in India and Singapore.

Sunrise and Sime Darby Property had on Jan 26 formed a partnership through a 50:50 joint venture to develop three lots of freehold commercial land measuring 20.95 acres in the 180-acre Bukit Jelutong.

The project, which has a GDV of RM1 billion, will have a built-up area of approximately 2.7 million sq ft, consisting of a retail segment, shopoffices, office suites and service apartments.