By Naveen Sachdev
The opening of Central i-City, the largest shopping mall in the capital city of Selangor, received Royal treatment with the presence of H.R.H Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah, the Sultan of Selangor accompanied by H.R.H Tengku Permaisuri Norashikin.
Also present were Preecha Ekkunagul, president and chief executive officer of Central Pattana Public Company Ltd (CPN), Menteri Besar Selangor, Tuan Amirudin bin Shari and I-Berhad founder and executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong.
Central i-City is a joint venture project between CPN (60%), Thailand’s largest retail developer, and i-City Properties Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of property developer i-Berhad.
The RM850 million mall is the first international project by CPN.
Ekkunagul said after five years of studying various countries to open a mall outside of Thailand, Malaysia, in particular i-City was selected because it saw it as the best potential growth area.
“We finally selected Malaysia and i-City because we are confident that this mall together with the other integrated components of i-City will play a key role and contribute towards i-City being the ‘heart of Selangor’s Golden Triangle’," he said.
The mall offers 940,000 sq ft of retail space, with over 350 retail stores, spanning across six levels.
The new retail destination is expected to transform the retail experience of the capital city as the mall targets to cater to a more affluent segment attracting shoppers who will appreciate more lifestyle choices and be driven by quality.
Amirudin recently identified i-City as part of the Golden Triangle in the state of Selangor.
He described Central i-City as Shah Alam and Selangor’s latest landmark which will realise his administration’s aim to make Selangor a smart state by 2025.
He said the collaboration between the two parties was beneficial to the state.
“The Thai counterpart has a wide network not just at home but also in Europe. This venture adds value to the investment sector in Selangor. It is able to provide not just job opportunities, but also room for commercial activities and housing as well as stimulating the state economy, especially Shah Alam," said Amirudin.
Amirudin said, Selangor was open and would always welcome more investments to transform Shah Alam to become a more vibrant city through commercial-friendly government policies.
I-Berhad is the master developer of the burgeoning i-City Ultrapolis.
Lim said, the opening of Central i-City will continue to push the boundaries yet again as the mall will help transform the capital city of Selangor into a regional shopping destination.
The mall will also complement the next phase of i-City that is the development of work places of the future – one which inspires innovation through the ability to focus, socialize, learn, collaborate and rejuvenate under a single space, and living spaces of the future – one which offers collaborative living spaces with quality facilities and office-standard technology, he said.
Central i-City will be augmented by 150,000 sq ft of centralWalk high-street retail, offering lifestyle-altering experiences to visitors patronizing i-City.
Together with Leisure Park, the convention central and hotels, i-City would be able to offer a whole range of leisure and entertainment choices for visitors, added Lim.
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