Pahang set to gain another integrated resort city

An artist's impression of Bukit Gambang Resort City

COMING up on approximately 500 acres of secondary jungle in the ex-mining town of Gambang, Kuantan, is the RM1 billion Bukit Gambang Resort City (BGRC) developed by Sentoria Harta Sdn Bhd. Launched in July last year, the project is touted to be the first and largest water park resort city on the East Coast.

The integrated development will feature a range of tourist attractions including a water park, an adventure park, a forest park as well as resort suites and villas. “It will be a naturebased and family-oriented integrated resort city,” saID Heap Wei Guan, finance manager of Sentoria Development Sdn Bhd, the holding company of Sentoria Harta.

Taking centre stage will be the water park, which is to occupy 60 acres within natural surroundings. “The secondary jungle will provide a shady and cool setting to the development, which is one of our unique selling points,” said Heap. The first phase, covering approximately 40 acres, will be completed early next year and tested before it is opened to the public mid 2009.

Attractions at the water park will include the longest family river raft ride; the biggest wave pool; the first six lane racer slide with timing scoreboard, which, according to Heap, would be suitable for companies holding team building events; and a children’s aqua play structure. “There will also be tube rides, a combined lazy and action river, a man-made lake and a dedicated children’s fantasy island,” added Heap.

“We have already spoken with our suppliers and have started work on the water park,” he said, adding that the suppliers engaged are qualified and experienced companies from overseas such as the awardwinning ProSlide Technology Inc from Canada, Scotland-based Murphy’s Waves Ltd and Waterslides & Leisure Pty Ltd of Australia.

“We chose only the best and most experienced suppliers to construct our water rides and attractions to ensure quality and safety for our visitors,” said Heap. According to him, the difference between BGRC and other water parks is that this project caters to the entire family and not just teenagers and young adults like other water parks.

“There will be activities for the entire family, and a lot of local culture to attract foreign tourists,” he said, referring to the Heritage Square and East Coast Bazaar. The former will offer entertainment, cultural performances as well as food and beverage outlets while the latter features a 3-in-1 concept combining a local wholesale market, night market and foreign factory outlet where visitors may shop for local handicrafts.

“There will be batik, handicrafts and painting workshops at the Heritage Square, to educate children about our culture in a fun way and visitors may purchase Kuantan’s famous dried seafood products and traditional foodstuffs at the East Coast Bazaar,” explained Heap.

Apart from that, BGRC will also have a 100-acre forest park and a 40-acre adventure park. At the forest park, visitors can participate in recreational activities such as jungle trekking and mountain biking. There will also be educational activities for young children such as a tropical fruit farm, an aquarium showcasing freshwater fishes from various states in Malaysia and a petting zoo with local animals, said Heap.

As for the adventure park, the proposed attractions will include rides with themes such as the Sungai Lembing Tin Tunnel, Mulu Cave Adventure Ride, and Gunung Tahan Luge and Chair Lift, Caribbean Pirate Adventure and Kellie’s Castle Ghost House.

Investment and vacation opportunities
To be completed simultaneously with the water park is the first of its Scenic Ocean Ville resort suites, the Caribbean Bay Resort.

Taking up 67 acres, the Scenic Ocean Ville resort suites come in five country-themed designs: Caribbean Bay Resort, Arabian Bay Resort, Mediterranean Bay Resort, Andaman Bay Resort and Hawaiian Beach Resort.

Since its preview in June last year, more than 300 of the total 560 units of Caribbean Bay Resort suites have been sold, said Heap. “It exceeded our expectations,” he added. Currently, most of the buyers are from Kuantan itself, with some from Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. Heap said that there will certainly be plans to market the project in Singapore at a later stage.

“The Caribbean Bay Resort comes with a five-year leaseback agreement with guaranteed returns on investment as high as 17% per annum, plus 35 days of free stay during the five-year period with no maintenance fee,” said Heap.

“We’re confident with our project, and everything is on schedule. We also have sufficient income from the rental of the units to cover the guaranteed returns of RM1,000 per month for the family suite and RM650 per month for the studio units,” explained Heap, adding that rental of the suites are competitively priced compared to a typical hotel in Kuantan, which has a 64% occupancy rate. “Based on that figure, Sentoria will only need four days occupancy to cover the RM1,000 guaranteed return,” he added.

“Buyers also enjoy vacation opportunities with the water park and other attractions located close by. The units will also be furnished with hotel furniture and fittings,” he said. The family suites and studio units are sized at 810 sq ft and 470 sq ft respectively. The 420 family suites are priced at RM162,000 onwards while the 140 studio units are priced from RM109,000 onwards.
Heap said that the company will present buyers with complimentary or discounted tickets for the water park too.

In addition to that, the developer will absorb the legal fees for the purchase and buyers may continue leasing the units to the developer after the initial five years.

To be launched in the second half of 2008 is the Global Heritage resort villas, which take up 117. “These units will be larger and more expensive,” said Heap. The Global Heritage resort villas come in four country-themed designs: European Precinct, Tropical Precinct, Highland Precinct and Oriental Precinct.

“There will also be a promotional event for the Caribbean Bay Resort on Feb 23,” he added. Upon completion, the 10-year project will be complemented by Desa Hijauan, an affordable housing scheme, and higher learning institutions. The former will comprise 900 units of 1-storey homes and 41 units of 2-storey shop offices to cater to the future staff of BGRC. Registration for Desa Hijauan is already open and is targeted for launch in March or April, said Heap.

Strategically located near the Gambang interchange, the first East Coast Expressway exit point into Kuantan town, and only 8km from the toll gate, it takes less than three hours to travel to BGRC from Kuala Lumpur, said Heap. Combined with a catchment of approximately four million people in Kuantan, the developers are confident that the project will be a success. For enquiries and further details on BGRC, call 03-8943 8388 (KL) or 09-573 8161 (Kuantan).

By theSun (by Yeong Ee-Wah)

Last phase of ParkVille Townhouses set for launch

An artist's impression of ParkVille

Bukit Hitam Development Sdn Bhd (Bukit Hitam) will be launching the second, and last phase, of its ParkVille Townhouses in Bukit Puchong this weekend -- barely four months since the successful launch of its first phase last November.

“We managed to sell more than 90% of our first phase within two months. We aim to sell at least 50% of our second phase within the first month of the launch,” Bukit Hitam’s general manager Lim Jee Kong told PropertyPlus. The freehold 1,290-acre Bukit Puchong, formerly known as Bandar Bukit Puchong, is Bukit Hitam’s flagship development. To-date, the RM3 billion Bukit Puchong is 55% developed and the township is expected to be complete by 2015.

ParkVille Townhouses has a gross development value (GDV) of RM88 million. Its second phase offers 3-storey super-link duplex terraces comprising 200 units with lot sizes of 24 ft by 60 ft and built-up areas of 1,259 sq ft for the lower unit and 1,528 sq ft for the upper unit. Completion of ParkVille is set for October 2010.

“We believe in constantly making improvements and for our second phase, we have incorporated a toilet on the first floor (for the upper units), making the total number of toilets three”, Lim said, adding that a yard area was also included. Each unit comes with two carparks.

Priced at RM228,888 for lower units and RM233,888 for upper units, the contemporary townhouses are targeted at newlyweds, young professionals and young families. He said ParkVille Townhouses is designed with greens and landscaping in mind, aimed to bring the community closer through various community events.

“The majority of our purchasers bought their houses as their own homes and some for upgrading purposes. Therefore, the level of occupancy is very high,” Lim said. He said the purchasers are mainly from Puchong and other parts of the Klang Valley including Cheras, Sunway and Subang.

On future launches, Lim said Bukit Hitam has engaged an Australian master planner for several projects but declined to reveal further details. “ We are working on a 100-acre development and details will be finalised soon. It will be different from the normal conventional townships. It will be exciting and something for the Puchong community to look forward to,” he shared. Other launches in the pipeline include a 254-acre gated and guarded development with an expected GDV of RM50 million and 50 linked bungalows and zero-lot bungalows next to its existing Ametis Terraces project.

“Our main aim now is to develop Bukit Puchong. We still have about 600 acres of land left and this should last us for at least seven to eight years. This also means we have an opportunity to ensure all amenities and facilities are well-planned,” Lim said.

“Due to the scarcity of land, our strategy now is to focus on high-end properties. We prefer building homes instead of building houses,” Lim said, adding that Bukit Puchong boasts good connectivity and is probably some of the last freehold land left in the area. He said there would be a Light Rail Transit System (LRT) linked through Puchong in the future. Bukit Hitam is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Ayer Hitam Planting Syndicate Bhd (TAHPS).

By theSun - PropertyPlus (by Rosalynn Poh)

New Bukit Kiara Properties (BKP) projects in KL

Bukit Kiara Properties (BKP) will be offering an upmarket residential condominium in Kuala Lumpur's city centre before the year is up. Prospective buyers can expect low-density, low-rise
units with large built-up areas from 3,000 sq ft. In terms of the pricing, the developer said it is “way too early to tell”.


BKP is already handing over the earlier units of Hijauan Kiara to buyers

With no more land at its Mont’Kiara base where it has three high-end residential projects —Aman Kiara, Hijauan Kiara and Verve Suites — the developer made inroads to where all the action is taking place when it concluded a deal to purchase two pieces of freehold land in the city centre last year.

BKP group managing director NK Tong says the two parcels, one on the fringe of the city centre and the other along Persiaran Madge in the Ampang area, are under an acre each.

“We are in the process of obtaining the necessary planning approvals from the authorities for the Ampang site first and expect it to be up for sale by year-end or early next year,” Tong told PropertyPlus at a media night held in Hijauan Kiara recently.

When asked about the pricing, Tong only said that it would be in line with the rising trends of inflation and material costs. “The prices in the vicinity [of the site] are ranging between RM1,000 and RM1,200 psf,” he added.

According to Tong, it is also busy with the planning of the project that has an approved density of 30 units or less housed within a 5-storey or lower building. Some of its existing customers have indicated an interest in the project and Tong believes the project's response would be “very good”.

The gross development value of the Ampang project would be between RM90 million and RM100 million, said Tong.

For the other project, Tong shared that it is in the midst of being designed. “It will be a high-rise development... the price is still too early to tell,” he said, adding that it is looking at unveiling it six months after the Ampang project takes off.

Meanwhile, the developer’s new showroom gallery for its 881-unit Verve Suites serviced residence will be ready soon as it gears up for the launch of its third block in the second quarter of 2008. Sited on a 5.8- acre freehold parcel, Verve Suites comprises four residential blocks and a stand-alone 60,000 sq ft retail podium.

While still waiting for the approvals from the relevant authorities for the latest block, Tong displayed visible excitement about it. He added that customers could expect something totally different from the first two blocks that were launched in March 2006, and February 2007, for RM570 psf and RM650 psf respectively.

On Block C’s pricing, Tong only revealed that it would be “substantially more” than its previous units. “For Blocks A and B [totaling 428 units], we have managed to sell 95% of the units without the aid of advertising and promotion. We also have customers that are willing to wait to see what we have to offer for Block C before making their commitment,” he said, adding that he is confident that Block C units would be well received.

Currently, the existing showroom gallery sits on the land designated for Blocks C and D and the developer is in the midst of tearing it down. The new showroom gallery will be housed in the
first phase of the retail podium, which has main road frontage. BKP plans to retain the retail podium for recurring rental income, with the retail outlets there open to the public as well.

For Hijauan Kiara owners, the developer has obtained the Temporary Certificate of Fitness from the authorities and is in the midst of handing over the units. It is also offering resale and rental
services for customers.

Earlier during the press conference, Tong said that the projected rental rate at the 188-unit Hijauan Kiara project is RM4 psf, which works out to be a gross rental yield of 10%. Hijauan Kiara units are housed within seven blocks and built-ups range between 2,090 sq ft and over 4,068 sq ft for penthouses.

Launched in mid-2005 and sold at about RM470 psf, the freehold 5.4- acre Hijauan Kiara is BKP’s second completed project, the first being the gated-and-guarded strata-titled Aman Kiara comprising bungalows and duplex condovillas. Recent secondary transactions of the Hijauan Kiara units have already reached RM625 psf.

Tong is confident of Hijauan Kiara’s secondary prices surpassing the RM700 psf mark within the next six months. There is only one unit left for sale, the 4,622 sq ft penthouse at about RM2.73 million. The maintenance fee has been set at 30 sen psf inclusive of a 3-sen contribution to the
sinking fund.

“There are about 5,000 to 8,000 completed residential units in the Mont’Kiara vicinity and our project is one of the lowest density developments here. We are also the first to offer the private-lift-lobby concept and is the only completed project with this benefit,” Tong added.

By theSun - PropertyPlus (by Loo Pik Kwan)

Dijaya buys 10ha lands for RM18m

KUALA LUMPUR: Dijaya Corporation Bhd’s unit Dijaya Property Sdn Bhd (DPSB) is acquiring two parcels of freehold land measuring at 9.24 hectares and 1.59ha each in Cheras, Hulu Langat, Selangor for RM18.66 million.

It told Bursa Malaysia yesterday that the proposed acquisition was in line with its plan to increase its land bank to generate long-term sustainable income for the group.

“DPSB plans to carry out a residential development on the properties with a preliminary estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM200 million,” Dijaya said.

By The EDGE MALAYSIA