UEM: Nusajaya poised to ‘come alive’ by 2011

KUALA LUMPUR: The Nusajaya regional city in Johor, boosted by a substantial population of 100,000 now, is on track to “come alive” with commercial activities by 2011 and further development via partnerships, said UEM Group.

UEM World Bhd’s subsidiary UEM Land Sdn Bhd’s chief executive officer Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim said the development in Nusajaya would be boosted by the completion of the Johor state administrative centre, which was due for occupation in the first quarter of 2008.

“By 2011, the ongoing developments (in Nusajaya) would be generating new demand and it will propel a step further, driven by its own energy,” he told The Edge Financial Daily recently.

“All these projects would take time to develop and we believe by 2011, would achieve its target of ‘coming alive’ so to speak,” Wan Abdullah said.

He said other development centres include those such as the industrial and logistics cluster, the industrial development for advance technology corporations, which the company began selling this year and its three residential developments.

According to reports, the residential projects in Nusajaya — Horizon Hills, Nusa Idaman and Puteri Harbour — have a gross development value (GDV) of RM4.55 billion. Horizon Hills has a GDV of RM2.6 billion, Nusa Idaman RM450 million and Residential North precinct of Puteri Harbour RM1.5 billion.

Wan Abdullah said Nusa Indaman, which comprise medium cost housing, had been completed.

“So by 2011, these types of properties would be at a mature stage and achieve its tipping point. And then there are other projects like the international resort that would house the theme park and medical city,” he added.

Meanwhile, Khazanah Nasional Bhd managing director Datuk Azman Mokhtar told The Edge Financial Daily that the Iskandar Development Region (IDR), which requires an investment of US$105 billion (RM351.75 billion) over a 20-year period, would see more activities beginning 2008.

He said: “2008 will be when we are clearing and building the roads (and) some of the new investments will be coming in the first half. There will be greater visibility.”

Azman said so far there were already three Gulf-based investors pumping in US$12 billion for land and basic infrastructure in the IDR.

“These investors are committed, they are the bluest of blue chips from the Gulf. We are also working on various other key catalyst developments, including a proposed theme park and investors from other key countries, including China and India,” he said.

Azman said there were progress in the development of the IDR region this year, particularly between the Malaysian and Singaporean governments in identifying mutually beneficial areas of development, which include the Smartcard, a common Custom Immigration and Quarantine (CIQ) and potential MRT and transportation links, among others.

Asked how close is the IDR to achieving the first three benefits, he said: “It is quite encouraging; considerable progress has been made in the last one year.”

By The EDGE MALAYSIA (by Tamimi Omar)