Genting chairman and Genting Plantations Bhd director and chief executive officer Tan Sri Lim Kok Thay had personally told Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on the group’s plan.
The expansion plan would see an additional 60 new outlets, bringing the total to 130 outlets from 70 presently, and a water theme park.
Genting’s total investment in the project is about RM1bil. Other components in the pipeline include a hotel with 2,000 rooms and hospitality facilities for meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions.
“The expansion plan will take place in the near future,” Najib said yesterday at the opening of the JPO, the 70th centre in the Premium Outlets portfolio and the world’s largest collection of upscale outlets centres.
He said the JPO, a project earmarked under the Economic Transformation Programme, would boost the economy via tourism and help transform the industry in Johor as well as the country.
StarBiz learnt that the expansion plan would probably take place either in 2014 or 2015 and Genting’s main focus now was to position JPO as the leading retail outlet in the region.
JPO is the only Premium Outlets centre in South-East Asia. There are 58 other Premium Outlets in the United States, one in Puerto Rico, one in Mexico, eight in Japan and two in South Korea.
Among the brands on the offing at the outlets are Armani, Burberry, Canali, Coach, Ermenegildo Zegna, Guess, Michael Kors, Ralph Lauren and Salvatore Ferragamo.
The Premium Outlets is a 50:50 joint venture between Genting Plantations and Premium Outlets, the outlet division of Simon Property Group Inc.
Meanwhile, Lim said JPO would benefit from the Genting group’s expertise in hospitality and marketing to promote the outlets to customers globally.
By The Star
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