SANDAKAN: The third and the final phases of a RM510 million Sandakan Harbour Square, comprising a shopping mall and an international hotel, are on track to be completed by year-end.
According to project manager Ireka Development Management Sdn Bhd, Sandakan Harbour Mall is scheduled to open by end of the year, while the opening of Four Points by Sheraton Hotel is sche-duled for early next year.
Ireka president and chief executive officer (CEO) Lai Voon Hon said both buildings are currently about 80 per cent completed.
"There is no breakdown of the costs of the mall and the hotel but the gross development value of the mall and hotel, which are in phases three and four, is RM200 million," Lai told a news conference after the topping up ceremony yesterday.
The ceremony also saw the signing of agreement between Ireka and the mall's anchor tenant, Parkwell Departmental Store and Supermarket, owned by Evergreen (1979) Trading Sdn Bhd.
Also present at the ceremony, witnessed by Sandakan Municipal Council (MPK) president Datuk James Wong, were Starwood Asia Pacific Hotels & Resorts regional vice president (Southeast Asia) Chuck Abbott, CB Richard Ellis (Malaysia) managing director Allan Soo and Evergreen Trading managing director Lai Kock Poh.
Sandakan Harbour Square, a seafront urban renewal project, is developed by ICSD Ventures Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of London-listed Asean Properties Ltd, together with MPK as its joint-venture partner.
The integrated commercial development on reclaimed land overlooking the Sulu Sea, received the Asia Pacific Property Awards in 2009 in the commercial redeve-lopment category.
Lai said the project, which started in 2003 and spans over 30ha of land, blends well with Sandakan's development plan as Sabah's education hub.
He said the five-storey mall, with 200,000 sq ft of retail space, is targeted at local and international tourists as well as youngsters.
Abott said the 26-storey, 300-room Four Points by Sheraton hotel tower is targeted at business and leisure travellers.
Starwood manages eight hotels in Malaysia, including a Four Points by Sheraton hotel in Kuching, he added.
MPK's Wong said the Sandakan Harbour Mall development will contribute significantly to tourism activities in Sandakan, which has a population of about 500,000 people.
"The mall and the hotel are expected to generate between 3,000 and 4,000 job opportunities for the locals," he said.
By Business Times
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