Central Malaysian Properties embarks on RM 2.7 billion project in IDR

It will rehabilitate Lido Beach and give JB a facelift

JOHOR BARU: Central Malaysian Properties Sdn Bhd (CMP) will develop Lido Boulevard, a RM 2.7 billion integrated waterfront city, in the Iskandar Development Region (IDR).

Managing Director Datuk Chan Tien Ghee said work on the project, located on a 49.37ha beach front site, would start in March and was expected to be completed by 2016.

The project, to be developed in phases, will stretch 2.4km along Lido Beach - from the now defunct Lot 1 shopping mall to the Harbour Master office.

"Lido Boulevard will completely rehabilitate Lido Beach and give Johor Baru a facelift," Chan said at the launch of the project by Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman yesterday.

The flagship project by CMP, a company linked to Tan Sri Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, is a joint venture between CMP, the State Secretary and landowner Kumpulan Prasarana Rakyat Johor.

Touted as the "Garden City of the South", the project will include landscaped gardens, water fountains and park-like facilities.

Chan said the project would be financed via shareholders' funds and internal funding and the company would start sales early next year.

The development will consist of four main components - luxury condominiums, waterfront office suites, a hotel and a shopping mall.

There will be eight blocks of high-end condominiums of between 18 and 26 floors each, offering 914 units on a 1,052ha site.

Another eight blocks of waterfront office suites of between six and eight floors each, a 296-room hotel-cum-service residences and a three-storey waterfront retail complex are also in the plan.

Incorporated within the mall will be an international-sized ice skating rink and 32-lane bowling alley.

"One of the main attractions will be the 4,645.15 sq m Indoor Snow Park with activities like ice sliders, tobogganing and many more," Chan said.

He said RM150mil would be spent to upgrade Jalan Abu Bakar, fronting the seafront project, including widening the existing roads with flyovers and pedestrian bridges.

He said CMP would start a RM1mil trust fund, which would be administered by an independent board of trustees that would address social and environmental issues arising from the development.

By The Star (by Zazali Musa)