RM2.14b investment to build Lot G

Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd and its partners are investing RM2.14 billion in an integrated development, called Lot G, within the 28.8ha Kuala Lumpur Sentral.

The project, covering a 2.6 million sq ft area, comprises a retail mall, three office towers and a boutique hotel.

As part of the development, MRCB is teaming up with Pelaburan Hartanah Bhd (PHB) to build a seven-storey mall called Nu Sentral and a 27-storey office tower, with estimated gross development value of RM1.4 billion.


MRCB group managing director Shahril Ridza Ridzuan said the hotel and another two office towers will be developed with other partners, whom he did not disclose.

"We are four months into the construction (the mall and office tower) and essentially we are at about 9 per cent slightly ahead of our internal schedule, and we are looking forward for completion in 2012," he told a news conference after the launch of Lot G development by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak at KL Sentral yesterday.

Also present was PHB managing director and chief executive officer Kamalul Arifin Othman.

Located to the south of KL Sentral station, facing Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Nu Sentral will be managed by Nu Sentral Sdn Bhd, a joint venture between MRCB and PHB, on a 51:49 basis. Promising Quality Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of PHB, will manage the office tower.

Shahril said Nu Sentral and the office tower form about 9 per cent of KL Sentral's total gross floor area.

He said MRCB expects "decent commercial returns" from rental but he could not disclose the estimate as the company is currently in talks with potential tenants.

Nu Sentral will be the first green retail mall in Malaysia as it will undergo Singapore's BCA Green Mark compliance and Malaysia's Green Building Index certification.

The office tower, meanwhile, has already obtained pre-certification for the US-based Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (Silver).

Asked whether MRCB Land would be listed, Shahril said at the moment, MRCB would keep the entity internal.

"We are keeping it within MRCB group itself at the moment and essentially, the reason why we put it all together is to enable us to present this new brand to the market and leverage a lot of works for the last three decades in property development," he said.

MRCB had recently rebranded all of its property developments and real estate products as "MRCB Land".

By Business Times (by Hamisah Hamid)