The first property project on land alienated in relation to Penang’s massive highway and traffic mitigation venture will have a gross development value of RM800mil.

Ewein Bhd and Consortium Zenith BUCG Sdn Bhd will undertake the mixed development project on 3.67 acres in Bandar Tanjong Pinang.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia yesterday, Ewein said that it was expected to start in the second half of this year.

Yesterday, the Penang Island City Council approved the building plans for the development on the parcel of land alienated to Ewein Zenith, a 60:40 joint venture between Ewein and Consortium Zenith.

The parcel forms part of the 110 acres of freehold land to be alienated by the Penang government to Consortium Zenith or its nominees as partial payment for construction works on the RM6.3bil mega project which includes a 6.5km undersea tunnel. Consortium Zenith is also allowed to collect toll for the undersea tunnel for 30 years.

Ewein did not reveal the specifics of the proposed development in its announcement yesterday, but it did mention broadly in a circular to shareholders dated June 12, 2014, that the development would be a combination of residential and commercial units.

The circular to shareholders named the consortium’s shareholders as Datuk Zarul Ahmad Zulkifli’s Zenith Construction Sdn Bhd with a 99.94% stake, China state-owned Beijing Urban Construction Group (BUCG) (0.02%), niche contractor Juteras Sdn Bhd (0.02%) and Sri Tinggi Sdn Bhd (0.02%). Past press reports had assigned different equity stakes to the consortium members, including a 10% stake each for BUCG, Juteras and Sri Tinggi.

Ewein Bhd, via unit Ewein Land, will pay RM79.8mil to Consortium Zenith for the 3.67-acre land that has been valued at RM133mil (equivalent to 60% of the land value).

This marks the first property development project undertaken by Ewein, whose core business is precision and fabricated sheet metal manufacturing.

On the rationale for the diversification, Ewein said it was to mitigate any risk of dependency in its core business that fell within the electronics industry, “a competitive and rapidly evolving industry.”

The company said its proposed joint venture with Consortium Zenith was expected to result in a diversion of more than 25% of the net assets of the group to the property development business.

According to the circular, the group envisaged that profit would be shared in accordance to the respective shareholding percentages of Ewein Land and Consortium Zenith in Ewein Zenith.

Consortium Zenith was awarded the feasibility studies and detailed design works for Penang’s largest infrastructure project following an agreement inked with the Penang government in October 2013. The project comprises a RM6.3bil integrated road transport and traffic mitigation project comprising a 6.5km undersea tunnel, a 4.2km bypass from Gurney Drive to Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway, a 4.6km bypass between Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu Expressway and Bandar Baru Air Itam, and a four-lane 12km road from Jalan Tanjung Bungah to Teluk Bahang.

Source: StarProperty.my

A proposed mixed residential development by BSG Property in Tanjung Bungah, Penang. It is located off Jalan Poh Heng, just a stone’s throw away from Hillview Garden and Desa Embun Emas apartment.  The development will consists of the following:

• 50-storey condominium with 8 levels of car parks and one facilities floor (2 towers,  365 units)
• 49-storey condominium with 6 levels of car parks and one facilities floor (185 units)
• 34-storey low medium cost with 5 levels of car parks and facilities (343 units)
• 3-storey bungalows (21 units)

More details to be available upon project launch.

Project Name : (Pending approval)
Location : Tanjung Bungah, Penang
Property Type : Condominium & bungalows
Developer : BSG Property

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Residents of Tanjung Bungah are concerned over a proposed high-density development, which is expected to cause traffic congestion in the area.

Desa Embun Emas (DEE) Apartments Council chairman George Lee said residents foresaw an additional 2,000 cars in the vicinity based on an estimation of two cars for each household.

“We are not against development but are merely concerned over the immense density of the proposed project. Such a project must be carried out responsibly.

“If the project is approved, surely, the existing roads will be barely adequate to cater to the increased number of vehicles belonging to the units.

“We hope the Penang Island City Council and state government will abide by the Penang State Structural Plan 2007, which states that there should not be more than 15 units per acre (0.40ha) within the Tanjung Bungah area,” he said during a press conference at the apartments community hall on Saturday.

Lee said at least two new roads leading to the main Tanjung Bungah road must be built before the actual construction of the proposed project.

He said that there should also be adequate buffer zone, at least 30m from the property of the affected residents, as well as a green lung and parks.

DEE council member Susan Siew said the residents just wanted their issues and concerns to be addressed before any approval is given to the proposed pro-ject.

“We want to know what is the state government’s policy on density and height of buildings in Tanjung Bungah and Penang island,” she said.

Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu, who was also present, said he strongly opposed to the ‘height’ and density of the project.

“The residents here must let their voices be heard,” he said.

Source: StarProperty.my

Some 50 first-time unit buyers went one step closer to their dream of home ownership at the M Summit Group’s Taman Ria and Ramah Pavilion balloting session in Penang.

At the event held at the group’s office in Wisma Penang Garden recently, the buyers for the projects in Teluk Kumbar came as early as 8.30am to cast bal-lots.

Taman Ria offers 17 storeys of 150 low-cost (LC) and 150 low medium-cost (LMC) flats while Ramah Pavilion is a two-tower apartment project consisting of 759 units in the Andira Tower and Barbarea Tower which are 39 and 36 stories respectively.

Network analyst P. Pathmase-karan, 33, was happy to finally obtain a RM79,000 LMC unit in Taman Ria.

“It is about time. I’ve waited for this for five years.

“I have my mum to thank as she was constantly running to the Penang Island City Council office to help me get my unit,” he said.

Father of three Tan Kok Tong, 39, waited for seven years to own a home.

He was relieved to finally obtain a Taman Ria LMC flat for his family.

“Previously, my family and I were staying with my parents in a rented house in Teluk Kumbar. Now, my children can have their own rooms,” he said.

M Summit Group managing director Datuk Albert Moh said 30% to 40% of units in Taman Ria had been taken up while Ramah Pavilion recorded a 30% take-up rate.

“Another 20% of applications for the Ramah Pavilion project is pending state approval.

“Piling work for the project will go into full swing soon.

“We have also started construction of the reinforced concrete bridge which will be the main access to the Ramah Pavilion project,” he said.

State Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo, who was also present at the balloting, said there had been an increase in people applying for affordable housing since November last year.

“In a mere 130 days, we have seen an increase of 28% in applicants for the RM200,000 affordable housing units.

“As for the RM300,000 units, we have seen a 61% increase in applications and there is a 42.5% increase for flats costing RM400,000.”

Source: StarProperty.my

by Charles Tan

When we look at the Penang’s market, we can see the real demand versus supply in real action. The reason I say so is because despite the property transactions declining, the prices of landed properties, especially within the island and especially only in that few hotspots continue to rise. Datuk Jerry Chan, the Real Estate and Housing Developers Association (Penang) said that prices of landed residential properties is rising and there are no signs of distress buyers yet. Land scarcity remains an issue and land prices are moving faster than property prices. Due to this, one can choose to pay EVER HIGHER for prime locations or move away.

Where are some of the ever higher places? According to CH Williams Talhar & Wong’s (WTW) in its 2015 Property Market report, prices of newly launched, landed residential properties in Penang continues to set new benchmark. Older residential units in established neighbourhoods such as Greenland is still very sought after despite the very high asking price. While he did not say but let me say that these more traditionally Penang areas are loved very much by Penangites. It is not necessarily the top choice for the migrants from other states who are working in Penang. For now, majority of landed residential properties are focussed in Seberang Perai due to the much lower land cost in comparison. According to National Property Information Centre, there are only a total of 36,795 units of landed residential in Penang. This simply meant if you own a landed property today, you will do just fine when you need to retire!

From all these reports, one thing is for sure. In Penang, island side remains a great prospect. Within the island, the landed property is even more valuable. If that location is an established one, then that property has now become a hot asset. The simple conclusion for those who just cannot accept high-rise developments and must stay in landed property in an established neighbourhood within Penang island? Be prepared, with lots of money. Happy buying or keeping one today.

>> This opinion article comes courtesy of my friend, Charles, the founder of kopiandproperty.com. He is popular for sharing his thought on property investment mostly based on his own 12 years experience as well as from all the readings and conversations with property gurus in the industry. (Source)