JCorp in RM40m hotel upgrade

JOHOR Corp, Johor state's investment company, will spend up to RM40 million to upgrade all its hotel assets in line with increasing tourist arrivals in the state, spurred by the opening of several attractions in Iskandar Malaysia, including the Johor Premium Outlets.

Government investment arm Khazanah Nasional Bhd is developing an indoor theme park in Puteri Harbour for RM350 million, which is slated to open by end-2012.

In Nusajaya, Legoland Malaysia, which is being built at a cost of around RM750 million, is set to open in early 2013.

JCorp Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd deputy chief executive officer Muhamad Mazlan Ali said the upgrading work will commence in early 2012 starting with The Puteri Pacific Johor Baru.

"The hotel, which opened in 1990, is quite tired now and needs some uplifting. Our competitors have refurbished their properties. To stay afloat, we have to upgrade our properties.

"We will review upwards our pricing strategy once the refurbishment exercise is completed in about a year or two," Muhamad Mazlan told Business Times.

Currently, the average room rate in the Johor market is about RM180.

JCorp Hotels, the hospitality arm of Johor Corp, owns and manages five properties in Johor. Apart from The Puteri Pacific Johor Baru and the Persada Johor International Convention Centre, it owns Sibu Island Resort, Selesa Johor Baru and Selesa Pasir Gudang.

The company also has a property in Negri Sembilan, called Selesa Port Dickson. The six properties are worth as much as RM600 million.

Muhamad Mazlan acknowledged that Johor needed more hotels.

There are over 4,000 rooms available in the two- to five-star categories currently and this is expected to double by 2014, but still may not be sufficient to meet demand, he said.

"We expect room demand to increase with the expected influx of tourists and attractions. We are optimistic that the attractions in Johor will bring more people to the state.

"With more universities and colleges opening at EduCity, we can expect a large number of international students too," he said.

EduCity is a fully integrated knowledge-based hub comprising world-class universities, industry-centric R&D clusters, international schools and colleges, as well as conference and exhibition amenities.

By Business Times