By M Shanmugam of theedgeproperty.com
Wednesday, 05 December 2012 14:56
JOHOR BARU: A RM3.5 billion facility to cater for regional motoring enthusiasts is one of a slew of development agreements, amounting to more than RM46 billion, unveiled yesterday for Iskandar Malaysia and Danga Bay.
The Motorsports City project, which will be built on a 270-acre tract near the Tuas Second Link, will be jointly developed by FASTrack Autosports Pte Ltd, a company controlled by Singapore billionaire Peter Lim and UEM Land Holdings Bhd, a Khazanah Nasional Bhd-controlled company.
The facility will cater for all car companies. It will have a 4.5km test track, dubbed the "Nurburging of Iskandar Malaysia", that will be Formula 1-compliant and designed by an internationally acclaimed track designer.
Apart from the track, the area will also have an integrated mixed commercial development to house service centres, car showrooms, a spare parts and accessories hub and centres to enhance and upgrade cars.
Lim, a former remisier who is now an investor in several companies including McLaren Automotive, said the F1 track is not meant to compete with the existing facilities in Sepang and Singapore.
"The idea is not to build an F1 track to compete with the existing tracks. This track is to cater for motoring enthusiasts and car companies. I believe we can build a sound business model with the competitive cost structure and availability of labour," he told a press conference after the exchange of documents in conjunction with the World Islamic Economic Forum yesterday.
UEM Land Bhd managing director and CEO Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said it is hoped the race track will be completed by 2016. The facilities will include a bonded warehouse for cars.
When completed, Motorsports City, which is 70% owned by FAStrack Automotive and 30% by UEM Land, will have about 8.25 million sq ft of gross floor area and create employment for more than 5,000 people.
The other major deals signed yesterday were:
(i) Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd, a China-based developer acquired a 11ha piece of waterfront land in Danga Bay for RM900 million;
(ii) Sunway Bhd's Sunway City Sdn Bhd is buying 779.07 acres in Pendas, Nusajaya, through a joint venture with Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) for RM412.7million or RM12.16 per sq ft;
(iii) a MoU between UEM Land and Chinamall Holding Pte Ltd to develop a China trade and exhibition centre in Nusajaya;
(iv) a collaborative agreement between UEM Land and Telekom Malaysia Bhd (TM) for the provision of communication and ICT infrastructure to realise a connected Nusajaya; and (v) a memorandum of collaboration among UEM Land, IIB, TM, Cisco Systems International BV and Centios Co Ltd to establish a Global Innovation Centre.
Wan Abdullah said UEM Land and Chinamall are looking at signing a definitive agreement within the next six months.
According to UEM Land's statement, the trade mall will cater mainly to merchants from China.
UEM Land will grant a lease of the mall to Chinamall Holding to operate it as a master tenant with the operating and management concept to be benchmarked against the Dragon Mart in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.
Sunway's tie-up with IIB for the acquisition of 779.07 acres of land is expected to generate an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM12 billion over 17 years.
The acquisition was in addition to the 691 acres acquired a year ago, bringing Sunway's total development land in Johor to 1,558 acres, with a potential GDV of RM25 billion. Sunway is one of the largest land owners in Iskandar.
"In Johor we want to reach new frontiers. This is to be the most exuberant, exciting and exceptional integrated township," said founder and chairman of Sunway group Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah in a statement.
At a separate event, Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Bhd (IWH) major shareholder Tan Sri Lim Kang Hoo signed an agreement to divest 55 acres of waterfront land to Country Garden Holdings Co Ltd.
This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Dec 5, 2012.
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