MAKING its mark as DNP Land’s first mega commercial project, the Impiana Commercial Hub is poised to revolutionise the developing township of Alma in Bukit Mertajam.

DNP Land Sdn Bhd senior marketing manager Joe Ang Kean Joo said that the 20ha commercial centre offers a diverse range of commercial properties ranging from terraced-shops to semi-detached show gallery and courtyard plazas.

Phase One of the project comprises of the Impiana Boulevard which consists of 72 units of two-storey shop offices with mezzanine floor and has a built up area of more than 371.6sq m (4,000sq ft).

The units are priced at about RM1mil each.

There is also the Impiana Avenue, which consists of 34 units of two and three-storey shop offices with land sizes measuring 111sq m (1,200sq ft), priced at RM868,000 each.

“Tesco hypermarket commenced their operations here last year and we recently entered into an agreement with Jusco to open up a new departmental store here in the future. This will provide an added crowd-pulling factor,” said Ang.

The remaining units of the project will be open for sale to potential buyers at the upcoming DNP Property Showcase 2011 held at the DNP sales gallery in Alma, Bukit Mer- tajam from 10am to 6pm from tomorrow to Wednesday.

The other two projects that will be on offer during the property showcase are the Jesselton Hill in Bukit Mertajam and BM Utama in Bukit Minyak.

Set for launch this year, Phase One of Jesselton Hill comprises 136 units of three types of semi-detached designs, priced from RM588,000 onwards and is now open for registration.

Ang said there will be an early bird promotion, offering a discount of RM15,000, as well as free legal fees and stamp duty on transfer and also free clubhouse membership and security services for 24 months.

As for BM Utama, the residential area, which spans 28ha of prime freehold land, is poised to be the premier address in the fast-growing precinct of Bukit Minyak.

Comprising over 700 landed residential units to be built in several phases, the project is targeted for completion in 2013.

Phase Three of the project comprises of two and three-storey link homes, with selling prices starting from RM408,000 onwards for the double-storey units while the triple-storeys are at RM498,000 onwards.

Ang also said that visitors may enjoy up to RM20,000 worth of rebate at the show-case.

“We hope that our three projects in Bukit Mertajam will receive excellent response from buyers at the showcase,” he added.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: The first phase of the RM450mil Gurney Paragon Mall will be ready by the end of this year.

Group executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong said the 25 retail tenants in that phase would be Italiennes restaurant, Coffee Bean, Pacific Coffee, and TGIF.

The first phase has a net lettable area of 111,000sq ft. The second phase, comprising 599,000 sq ft, will have teants such as Hokkaido Ichiba Japanese restaurant, Urban Fresh supermarket, and TGV Cinemas Sdn Bhd.

“We are now negotiating with Valiram Group to bring in some of their fashion brand names for the second phase,” he said.

Khor said the group’s business model was to hold and manage this mall.

“We have experts from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur to advise on the mall’s operations.

“The rental income stream from the mall in the future will enable the group to have a strong base of recurring income.

“This will transform the group from a property developer into a real estate landlord,” he added.

On the Gurney Paragon RM480mil condominium project, located within the same premise as the commercial segment, Khor said about 70% of the 220 condominium units had been sold.

“We have also obtained the certificate of fitness for the project,” he said.

Khor added that about RM10mil was in the process of being paid in the form of rebates to some 100 purchasers of the condominium scheme for late delivery.

The condominium project was scheduled for delivery in mid-2010.

It was delayed because of the caving in of an access road in July 2009.

Source: The Star

GEORGE TOWN: World-class hotelier Amanresorts International Pte Ltd's plans to manage and market a proposed resort on Penang Hill are still on track and awaiting government approval.

The company told Business Times yesterday that despite news reports that the luxury Aman Resorts chain may be sold, plans or operations of its resorts are not affected.

"Essentially, the Aman project, which is still to be named, is going ahead pending government approval.

"There is an Aman resort proposal to be submitted on September 5 this year to the (Penang) Chief Minister Incorporated for final approval," Amanresorts Press Office media communications manager Anjali Nihalchand said in an email.

In May, the Penang government had announced that Amanresorts will refurnish the famous Crag Hotel on Penang Hill, which was one of the earliest hilltop homes and later turned into a hotel in 1929. The hotel has been in a neglected and direlect state since 1977 when the International school of Penang (better known as Uplands School) vacated the premises and moved to George Town.

The project was reported to have been awarded in April to Sri Nisuh Sdn Bhd and the company was said to be investing US$12 million (RM35.76 million) to finance the project which was to be completed within 30 to 36 months.

The Sunday Times in London, which did not mention a source for its story, had reported that the luxury Aman Resorts chain may be sold for more than US$400 million (RM1.19 billion).

The report stated that the current owner, Indian property company DLF Ltd, has reportedly been seeking a buyer for Aman and the newspaper reported that it may have asked Goldman Sachs Group and Citigroup to find a strategic partner.

When asked to comment on whether this piece of news would affect Aman's plan for the Penang Hill resort, Anjali said: "No, the shareholding of the parent company of Amanresorts does not affect the plans or operations of the resorts."

In 2007, Khazanah Nasional Bhd announced that it had entered into a heads of agreement with Kota Selat Tebrau Sdn Bhd, Symphony International Holdings Limited and Aman Resorts Limited to develop an Aman Resort in the Iskandar Development Region in Johor.

The proposed resort was to have been the first Aman Resorts property in Malaysia to be built, designed and operated and the hotel was slated for completion in 2009. However, the project did not materialise.

SOURCE: Business Times

KUALA LUMPUR: Former mining concern turned property developer Selangor Dredging Bhd (SDB) expects revenue contribution from Singapore projects to grow to 50 per cent over the next two years.

"We hope that 50 per cent of our income will come from Singapore," its managing director Teh Lip Kim said.

Currently, the Singapore projects contribute about 30 per cent to SDB's income.

Teh was speaking at a press conference after its annual general meeting (AGM) here yesterday. Also present was chairman Eddy Chieng Ing Huong.

She said SDB aims to launch several new projects in the Klang Valley and Singapore, worth a combined RM1 billion, by end-2012.

The firm will kick off the new projects with the Hijauan in Singapore through its unit SDB Asia. The land measuring about 19,806 sq ft there is located in Cavenagh Road, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM238 million.

SDB is planning to build 41 units of luxury apartments in District 9, a prime location in the island republic. It then plans to launch high-end apartments in Batu Feringghi in Penang.

The Hijauan project is expected to take off next month, while the one in Batu Feringgi in November.

Also in the pipeline are two more projects slated to be launched in the first and second quarters of next year, in Cheras Selatan and Dengkil respectively.

SDB has five ongoing projects, two in Taman Melawati in Kuala Lumpur, one in Petaling Jaya and two in Singapore.

Teh is confident that its niche portfolio of projects and new team of key department personnel will put SDB in a strong position to perform credibly.

"We will continue to focus on our strategy of niche, quality developments and will prudently proceed with our plans to launch based on market conditions," she said.

For the first quarter ended June 30, SDB registered a net profit of RM10.1 million, compared with RM5.6 million recorded in the same quarter of 2010.

The company recorded a revenue of RM98.9 million for the first quarter of 2011 compared to RM62.4 million during the corresponding quarter in 2010, boosted by high sales achieved in 20trees West in Taman Melawati and Five Stones in Petaling Jaya as well as Gilstead Two in Singapore.

SOURCE: Business Times

GEORGE TOWN: Hunza Properties Bhd (HBP) is set to raise the bar for retail and food scene in Penang with the staggered opening of Gurney Paragon from December this year.

Executive chairman Datuk Khor Teng Tong yesterday said in its bid to bring in fresh names in retail and dining to the island, the company had lined up a mixture of tenants who have not operated here before.

"Besides signing up with TGV Cinemas Sdn Bhd, Pacific Coffee and Italiennes Restaurant, we are also in talks with luxury goods retailer Valiram Group about bringing several of its brands to our shopping mall," Khor said after taking the media on a tour of the residential and commercial components of Phase 1 of Gurney Paragon.

He said the shopping mall, boasting a net lettable area of 700,000 sq ft, will form the second phase, which fronts both Gurney Drive and Jalan Kelawai. It is expected to be completed by end-2012.

Khor said there were plans to bring in Japanese restaurant Hokkaido Ichiba.

Ahead of the mall's opening, Gurney Paragon chief operating officer Cheng Jih Min said HPB is set to unveil a food and beverage component in Gurney Paragon's first phase by year-end in a restored heritage building, which used to house a training school for Catholic missionaries.

The 94-year-old St Joseph's Noviate, which includes a chapel, is undergoing restoration work and will house eateries like Coffee Bean and Thank God It's Friday.

The first phase, which carries a development value of RM480 million, includes the heritage building, which is flanked by two towers with 220 high-end condominium units.

More than 70 per cent of the units have been sold, Khor said.

HPB is set to give out rebates totalling RM10 million as late delivery charges to 100 affected buyers. The company had a 12-month delay in completing the condominiums after it was slapped with a stop-work order, after an access road to a condominium project next door to Gurney Paragon caved in.

On measures the firm is taking to cope with the expected higher traffic in the area, Cheng said: "We are looking at shuttle buses to bring in shoppers from different points in Penang as one option, and also hope the state authorities will go ahead with turning Gurney Drive and Jalan Kelawai into one-way roads.

"The fact that we are offering 1,800 parking bays and access roads to the mall ought to take some pressure off the main roads."

SOURCE: Business Times