Developer building $9.2b tourist playground on reclaimed land
09 Mar 2012 15:45 by REME AHMAD
JOHOR BARU: A private Malaysian developer is planning to reclaim 810ha of land off sleepy Mersing town in north-east Johor in an ambitious RM22 billion (S$9.2 billion) project to create a tourist playground.
Led by a member of Johor royalty, the developer named Radiant Starfish Development said it plans to build hotels, serviced apartments, waterfront villas and a marina on three new islands created by reclaiming the land.
A RM1 billion theme park is being planned on the mainland.
Called Mersing Laguna, the three islands together will be larger than one of Singapore's biggest residential estates, Ang Mo Kio, which is about 680ha in size.
Mersing town, about a 90-minute drive from Johor Baru, is often visited by Singaporeans as a starting point for exploring Malaysian islands in the South China Sea, such as Pulau Tioman, and for fishing holidays on kelongs.
The town is also located near the Endau-Rompin National Park, a rainforest popular with jungle trekkers and nature lovers. Offshore are 42 small islands, which are part of the Johor marine park.
Unlike most big projects going up in Johor that form part of Iskandar Malaysia, the economic development zone in southern Johor, Mersing Laguna is part of investments in the East Coast Economic Region.
The region encompasses Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing district in Johor - mostly rural towns and districts which have been targeted for development.
The three reclaimed islands will be linked to mainland Johor by separate bridges, artist's impressions released by the company yesterday showed.
When asked why land is being reclaimed when there is ample land in Malaysia, Radiant Starfish president and chief executive Ungku Safian Abdullah said in an interview yesterday that he wants to retain the rustic feel around Mersing as that is what tourists look out for in eco-tourism.
This includes the fishing villages, the 36km-long beachfront and the fruit trees.
'These are my tourist products. You can buy fish from the fishermen at the jetty, get fresh fruit. How much would it cost to set up such a fishing village?' he asked.
The dredging of sand from the bottom of the South China Sea and the land reclamation will take about three years and some RM4.2 billion.
It will be carried out by China's Sinohydro Group, which was involved in building the Three Gorges Dam and Sarawak's Bakun Dam.
The islands raised from the sea will have to be left alone for just a few months before low-rise hotels, apartments and villas can be built on them.
Radiant Starfish, as the project's master developer, yesterday signed agreements in Johor Baru with several parties to kick-start the project.
The agreements included one to buy several parcels of land near Mersing town, another to dredge sand for the land reclamation and one for the development of the 80ha onshore theme park by two companies from China.
Inevitably, the huge size and cost of the project raised questions on its financing viability, as Malaysia has a mixed record on mega projects.
Ungku Safian said the project would be spread over seven years and that the company has 'presold' all the 22 parcels of land on the three upcoming islands to investors.
'It is an ambitious project. A lot of people will scoff at the period of seven years (to build up everything). I take that as a challenge,' he said.
Radiant Starfish is 30 per cent owned by foreign investors, including those from China, with the remainder being held by Malaysians. The company has a paid-up capital of about RM700 million.
Led by a member of Johor royalty, the developer named Radiant Starfish Development said it plans to build hotels, serviced apartments, waterfront villas and a marina on three new islands created by reclaiming the land.
A RM1 billion theme park is being planned on the mainland.
Called Mersing Laguna, the three islands together will be larger than one of Singapore's biggest residential estates, Ang Mo Kio, which is about 680ha in size.
Mersing town, about a 90-minute drive from Johor Baru, is often visited by Singaporeans as a starting point for exploring Malaysian islands in the South China Sea, such as Pulau Tioman, and for fishing holidays on kelongs.
The town is also located near the Endau-Rompin National Park, a rainforest popular with jungle trekkers and nature lovers. Offshore are 42 small islands, which are part of the Johor marine park.
Unlike most big projects going up in Johor that form part of Iskandar Malaysia, the economic development zone in southern Johor, Mersing Laguna is part of investments in the East Coast Economic Region.
The region encompasses Kelantan, Terengganu, Pahang and Mersing district in Johor - mostly rural towns and districts which have been targeted for development.
The three reclaimed islands will be linked to mainland Johor by separate bridges, artist's impressions released by the company yesterday showed.
When asked why land is being reclaimed when there is ample land in Malaysia, Radiant Starfish president and chief executive Ungku Safian Abdullah said in an interview yesterday that he wants to retain the rustic feel around Mersing as that is what tourists look out for in eco-tourism.
This includes the fishing villages, the 36km-long beachfront and the fruit trees.
'These are my tourist products. You can buy fish from the fishermen at the jetty, get fresh fruit. How much would it cost to set up such a fishing village?' he asked.
The dredging of sand from the bottom of the South China Sea and the land reclamation will take about three years and some RM4.2 billion.
It will be carried out by China's Sinohydro Group, which was involved in building the Three Gorges Dam and Sarawak's Bakun Dam.
The islands raised from the sea will have to be left alone for just a few months before low-rise hotels, apartments and villas can be built on them.
Radiant Starfish, as the project's master developer, yesterday signed agreements in Johor Baru with several parties to kick-start the project.
The agreements included one to buy several parcels of land near Mersing town, another to dredge sand for the land reclamation and one for the development of the 80ha onshore theme park by two companies from China.
Inevitably, the huge size and cost of the project raised questions on its financing viability, as Malaysia has a mixed record on mega projects.
Ungku Safian said the project would be spread over seven years and that the company has 'presold' all the 22 parcels of land on the three upcoming islands to investors.
'It is an ambitious project. A lot of people will scoff at the period of seven years (to build up everything). I take that as a challenge,' he said.
Radiant Starfish is 30 per cent owned by foreign investors, including those from China, with the remainder being held by Malaysians. The company has a paid-up capital of about RM700 million.
Originally Published in The Straits Times
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