Tuesday July 17, 2012

Breaking new ground

By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my

THE highly anticipated maiden joint-venture development property project between Malaysia and Singapore was unveiled in the republic recently.

The unveiling of Marina One which sits on four land parcels at the Marina South district marked a new milestone in bilateral relationship between Malaysia and Singapore.

Choice location: The Marina One project is being developed in Singapore’s Marina South district.

The multi-billion dollar project is undertaken by M+S Pte Ltd (M+S) — owned 60:40 by Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Temasek Holdings (Private) Ltd, the Malaysian and Singaporean investment arms respectively.

The mixed-use development with a gross floor area of 341,000 sq m consists of four 30-storey and 34-storey towers for office spaces, residences, retail podium and green garden.

“It will define new standards of luxury urban living in Singapore and create a benchmark for international excellence in design and sustainability,” M+S chairman Tan Sri Azman Yahya said.

He was speaking to Malaysian and Singaporean media at the ground-breaking ceremony of the project at the Marina South district last week. Also present at the event were M+S boardmembers Datuk Abdul Rahman Ahmad, Datuk Wan Abdullah Wan Ibrahim, Hiew Yoon Khong and Lim Ming Yan.

Azman said the project would be launched soon but declined to give the exact date and its gross development value (GDV).

When completed in 2017, it will be eventually linked to the Marina Bay and the upcoming Downtown Mass Rapid Transit stations.

Marina Bay MRT also provides ease of access as an interchange linking the North South Line, Circle Line and soon-to-be-launched Downtown Line.

“The project will become the gravitational epicentre of Singapore’s new central business district (CBD),” Azman said.

Azman added the company would target international multinational corporations, prominent financial institutions, high-end net income individuals and established retailers as it clients for the project.

He said 60% of the spaces from the entire development would be allocated for office spaces while 35% for high-end residences and the remaining 5% for retailers.

Azman said Marina One’s strategic location within the Marina South district would be the strong selling point to attract buyers and clients from all over the world.

The project’s eminent neighbours include Marina Bay Sands, the Singapore Flyer, Esplanade Theatres on the Bay and Gardens by the Bay.

“The Marina South district has been identified by the Urban Redevelopment Authority as a growth area in establishing a global business and financial hub in Singapore,” he said.

Azman said despite not being launched officially, Marina One was already being recognised, winning three prestigious wards at the Asia Pacific Property Awards 2012 in April.

The awards were Best High Rise Architecture (Singapore), Best Mixed-use Architecture (Singapore) and Best Mixed-use Development (Singapore).

Marina One is one of the two projects by M+S — the company will also launch its project on two land parcels in Ophir-Rochor in Singapore by the end of the year. Both Marina One and Ophir-Rochor projects have a combined GDV of S$11bil (RM27.7bil).

The marketing and development of Marina One is managed by a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of URM Land Holdings Bhd and a wholly-owned indirect subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd.

Source:

News

Tuesday July 17, 2012

Breaking new ground

By ZAZALI MUSA zaza@thestar.com.my

Source:

By ZAZALI MUSA
zaza@thestar.com.my