Tuesday, June 11, 2013

Sunway plans world-class Johor amusement parks

By Sharen Kaur
sharen@mediaprima.com.my
Published in NST on June 13, 2013




SUNWAY Bhd, controlled by Tan Sri Jeffrey Cheah, plans to build world-class amusement parks at its two project sites in Johor.

Sunway owns 752ha in Medini and Pendas in Iskandar Malaysia, which can easily generate more than RM30 billion in gross development value (GDV).

The company is planning to develop an education hub, amusement parks, malls, hotels, residences, offices and hospitals there.

According to Bill Holman, the consultant director for Sunway Lagoon Sdn Bhd (SLSB), the new amusement parks, which will be the first of their kind in Malaysia, will be built on par with international standards.


Among the world's most notable theme parks are Universal Studios, Disneyland, Knott's Berry Farm and Six Flags Magic Mountain (United States); Dreamworld and Warner Bros Movie World (Australia); Alton Towers (United Kingdom); PortAventura (Spain); Tivoli Gardens (Copenhagen) and Europa-Park (Germany).

Holman, however, declined to say if Sunway will replicate any of these amusement parks or other models.

"We are currently working on the design and concept. There will be a theme park and an eco park.

"We will take advantage of the natural surrounding with full control of river-front development on both sides of Sungai Pendas, sea front and the natural mangrove forest.

"We will look at ways to preserve these natural elements and build the theme parks around that. Visitors will be both entertained and educated," he said in an interview.

SLSB is a unit of Sunway that operates the Sunway Lagoon theme park in Bandar Sunway, Selangor. Holman is one of the founding fathers of Sunway Lagoon.

Under a company called Australia Leisure Industries (M) Sdn Bhd, Holman designed and helped to develop Sunway Lagoon, which commenced operations in 1990.

Other notable projects under his belt include Starhill water park in Johor Baru, Bukit Merah Laketown in Perak, Clarke Quay adventure ride in Singapore, and several other projects in Indonesia, Hong Kong and China.

Holman also helped to develop the Lost World of Tambun at Sunway City in Ipoh.



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