By Sharen Kaur
Published in NST, February 8 2016
A WELL-coordinated infrastructure and more-than-usual number of recreational amenities like parks, lakes, bike paths and jogging trails are among the key attributes of a successful project.
If the township is in an isolated area that lacks transportation links or is far from highly-populated locations, find out who the developer is.
If it is a reputable builder known for turning around an undeveloped area, then the next thing to do is check your bank balance and status for loan application.
Eco World Development Group Bhd will be launching several projects in Ijok, a satellite town in Kuala Selangor, which is famous for Bukit Melawati, fireflies and seafood.
Ijok is located between Sungai Buloh and Kuala Selangor and accessible via major roads and highways such as the Latar Expressway, North-South Expressway and Guthrie Corridor Expressway.
Five months ago, Eco World said it was buying 26 parcels of leasehold land measuring 880ha in Ijok for RM1.181 billion. The land is located about 45km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, 40km from Petaling Jaya city centre and 18km from Sungai Buloh town centre.
The company is planning a self-contained township with a gross development value (GDV) of about RM15 billion over a 15-year period. The GDV target is based on preliminary management estimates and it can increase depending on the product offering.
The group plans three projects for the land. The first is a 560ha mixed-eco township to be known as Eco Gardens. It will have landed and high-rise residential homes, among others.
The other two projects are a 207.2ha integrated gated industrial hub, which will be known as Eco Business Park V, and a 112ha development featuring affordable homes, to be known as Laman Indah.
Eco World chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the concept for Eco Gardens would be similar to the Eco Majestic project in Semenyih, which is in line with the group's vision of eco-living.
Spread over 436ha, Eco Majestic is designed around a colonial theme. Some 60ha of the total land has been dedicated for a commercial hub and 40ha for green zones and recreational sites.
Eco Majestic will be one of the largest, fully-gated and guarded townships in Malaysia with a GDV of RM11 billion. It will consist of residential (link, semi-detached and cluster houses, bungalows and low- and medium-cost apartments) and commercial properties.
Eco World launched the first phase of Eco Majestic in June 2014, offering 612 units of terraced homes, with prices starting from RM586,000.
While prices have not been fixed for the projects in Ijok, one can expect an average house to be in the RM300,000-RM400,000 range.
"While the concept would be the same as Eco Majestic, we are going to build more starter homes or entry-level houses for young people in Eco Gardens. We are able to build more affordable homes in Ijok because the land cost is cheaper. It is only RM12 per sq ft (psf) compared with Eco Majestic's land cost of RM50 psf," he told Property Times.
Liew said Eco World picked Ijok as a new growth area, just like Semenyih (Eco Majestic project) and Telok Panglima Garang (Eco Sanctuary), because of the scarcity of land in prime locations.
"Townships need land. There is no more large parcels of land in Petaling Jaya or Shah Alam, so we have to venture further out and we look at areas with infrastructure. It may not be the best infrastructure, but we can build from there.
"For example, in Eco Majestic, we are building our own interchange, which will be ready by July this year.
"Similarly in Ijok, if we can get the land, we will connect the area to the highways. Planning is very important. A well-planned township will garner the desirable sales target," he said.
Liew said the completion of the Ijok land acquisitions was pending the first settlement between the land owners and the state government.
"There is a court case and Eco World was invited as the white knight to resolve the financial issues to ensure that the settlers, around 800 of them, are paid as their houses are demolished.
"Both the state government and the land owners must first resolve the issue and then we can come to a deal. Our deal is conditional upon the settlement of this issue. Right now we are not the owners of the land. We can only do the planning," he said.
Liew, who was formerly the president and chief executive officer of SP Setia Bhd, is known for picking land parcels in areas that no other developers would dare to go to due to reasons such as poor infrastructure.
He was once criticised for buying North Hummock Estate, which was owned by the family-controlled See Hoy Chan Group in Shah Alam/Klang for RM600 million in cash.
Liew bought the land through SP Setia in 2002 to develop Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park. Phase 1 of Setia Alam was launched in 2004.
"People were afraid to buy the land because there was no proper infrastructure and it was also quite a distance from the Kuala Lumpur city centre. When we launched Setia Alam, the GDV was RM5 billion. We built the infrastructure including a flyover. Now, 14 years later, the GDV has ballooned to RM25 billion and it has won a slew of awards," he said said.
Published in NST, February 8 2016
A WELL-coordinated infrastructure and more-than-usual number of recreational amenities like parks, lakes, bike paths and jogging trails are among the key attributes of a successful project.
If the township is in an isolated area that lacks transportation links or is far from highly-populated locations, find out who the developer is.
If it is a reputable builder known for turning around an undeveloped area, then the next thing to do is check your bank balance and status for loan application.
Eco World Development Group Bhd will be launching several projects in Ijok, a satellite town in Kuala Selangor, which is famous for Bukit Melawati, fireflies and seafood.
Ijok is located between Sungai Buloh and Kuala Selangor and accessible via major roads and highways such as the Latar Expressway, North-South Expressway and Guthrie Corridor Expressway.
Five months ago, Eco World said it was buying 26 parcels of leasehold land measuring 880ha in Ijok for RM1.181 billion. The land is located about 45km from the Kuala Lumpur city centre, 40km from Petaling Jaya city centre and 18km from Sungai Buloh town centre.
The company is planning a self-contained township with a gross development value (GDV) of about RM15 billion over a 15-year period. The GDV target is based on preliminary management estimates and it can increase depending on the product offering.
The group plans three projects for the land. The first is a 560ha mixed-eco township to be known as Eco Gardens. It will have landed and high-rise residential homes, among others.
The other two projects are a 207.2ha integrated gated industrial hub, which will be known as Eco Business Park V, and a 112ha development featuring affordable homes, to be known as Laman Indah.
Eco World chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said the concept for Eco Gardens would be similar to the Eco Majestic project in Semenyih, which is in line with the group's vision of eco-living.
Spread over 436ha, Eco Majestic is designed around a colonial theme. Some 60ha of the total land has been dedicated for a commercial hub and 40ha for green zones and recreational sites.
Eco Majestic will be one of the largest, fully-gated and guarded townships in Malaysia with a GDV of RM11 billion. It will consist of residential (link, semi-detached and cluster houses, bungalows and low- and medium-cost apartments) and commercial properties.
Eco World launched the first phase of Eco Majestic in June 2014, offering 612 units of terraced homes, with prices starting from RM586,000.
While prices have not been fixed for the projects in Ijok, one can expect an average house to be in the RM300,000-RM400,000 range.
"While the concept would be the same as Eco Majestic, we are going to build more starter homes or entry-level houses for young people in Eco Gardens. We are able to build more affordable homes in Ijok because the land cost is cheaper. It is only RM12 per sq ft (psf) compared with Eco Majestic's land cost of RM50 psf," he told Property Times.
Liew said Eco World picked Ijok as a new growth area, just like Semenyih (Eco Majestic project) and Telok Panglima Garang (Eco Sanctuary), because of the scarcity of land in prime locations.
"Townships need land. There is no more large parcels of land in Petaling Jaya or Shah Alam, so we have to venture further out and we look at areas with infrastructure. It may not be the best infrastructure, but we can build from there.
"For example, in Eco Majestic, we are building our own interchange, which will be ready by July this year.
"Similarly in Ijok, if we can get the land, we will connect the area to the highways. Planning is very important. A well-planned township will garner the desirable sales target," he said.
Liew said the completion of the Ijok land acquisitions was pending the first settlement between the land owners and the state government.
"There is a court case and Eco World was invited as the white knight to resolve the financial issues to ensure that the settlers, around 800 of them, are paid as their houses are demolished.
"Both the state government and the land owners must first resolve the issue and then we can come to a deal. Our deal is conditional upon the settlement of this issue. Right now we are not the owners of the land. We can only do the planning," he said.
Liew, who was formerly the president and chief executive officer of SP Setia Bhd, is known for picking land parcels in areas that no other developers would dare to go to due to reasons such as poor infrastructure.
He was once criticised for buying North Hummock Estate, which was owned by the family-controlled See Hoy Chan Group in Shah Alam/Klang for RM600 million in cash.
Liew bought the land through SP Setia in 2002 to develop Setia Alam and Setia Eco Park. Phase 1 of Setia Alam was launched in 2004.
"People were afraid to buy the land because there was no proper infrastructure and it was also quite a distance from the Kuala Lumpur city centre. When we launched Setia Alam, the GDV was RM5 billion. We built the infrastructure including a flyover. Now, 14 years later, the GDV has ballooned to RM25 billion and it has won a slew of awards," he said said.
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