Scoot introduce 16 brand-new A321neo aircraft

  Scoot announced the introduction of 16 brand-new A321neo aircraft into its fleet.
  The first aircraft, named “Wings of Change”, will be delivered in the last quarter of 2020 and will be used on routes within six hours (medium-haul markets).

  The new fleet will enable Scoot to meet its double-digit growth plan by the end of financial year 2020/2021. Of the 16 aircraft, six are an upsize from Scoot’s current A320neo order from Airbus, while 10 will be leased.
  The A321neos, powered by Pratt & Whitney engines, will be delivered from Airbus’ final assembly line. The single-aisle aircraft will be fitted with 236 seats, 50 more than that of the A320neo.
  Scoot CEO Lee Lik Hsin said, “The A321neos will inject growth possibilities to our network plans for 2020 and beyond, and it is indeed apt that we have named the first aircraft ‘Wings of Change’. Customers will be greeted by our brand-new cabin interiors, with seat products they are already familiar with. We hope the process of introducing this new fleet into our Scoot family will be as exciting for our customers as it is for us."
  With the A321neo’s enhanced sharklets, fuel-efficient engines and latest cabin innovations in the widest single-aisle cabin in the sky, there is an expected fuel cost savings of 12% as compared to the A320neos and 20% as compared to the A320ceos.
  On the environmental front, there is an expected 50% reduction in noise footprint and nitrogen oxide emissions as well as a reduction of 5,000 tonnes less carbon dioxide per year per aircraft.
  With the A321neo, Scoot will be able to operate its single aisle flights with unmatched levels of efficiency, benefiting from the highest commonality of the Airbus product range. This includes shared resources in spares, tools, similar maintenance engineering, pilots and cabin crew.


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KL Metro to build 3rd resort in Port Dickson

Kuala Lumpur Metro Group will build a five-star luxury resort adjacent to Lexis Hibiscus in Port Dickson, with an estimated gross development value of RM500 million.

The new resort called Lexis Hibiscus 2 comprises water and sky pool villas and it will out number the rooms available at Lexis Hibiscus.

Lexis Hibiscus 2 will feature 760 rooms comprising 582 water villas and 178 sky pool villas. In comparison, Lexis Hibiscus, which was opened in 2015, boasts 522 water villas and 117 sky pool villas.

KL Metro is undertaken the project with Negri Sembilan government investment arm Menteri Besar Inc on an 80-acre site.

Construction will commence next year and completed in 2024, KL Metro chairman Mat Hassan Esa said at the signing of the joint venture for the project, witnessed by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is Member of Parliament of Port Dickson.

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PSG in China for match

By AK Grewal

Paris Saint-Germain will travel from Paris for Shenzhen in July to ignite its long- established tradition of Summer tours. With the exception of South American players who took part in the Copa America and are set to arrive later in the tour, the whole squad is present, including new recruits Ander Herrera, Pablo Sarabia and Abdou Diallo.

Paris Saint-Germain (pic courtesy of ACCOR)

They touched down in Shenzhen on 24th July, and were greeted by large numbers of fans at the prestigious Raffles Hotel in Shenzhen.

During the pre-season tour of China between 24th July and 3rd August, 2019, the Rouge & Bleu will contest matches against Inter Milan in Macau on 27th July and Australian champions Sydney FC on 30th July in Suzhou, before attempting to win their first trophy of the season, the French Trophée des Champions, on 3rd August in Shenzhen against French side Stade Rennais.

Team Coach Thomas Tuchel announced: “We visited China just last year and it’s a really beautiful country. I’m delighted to be back in Shenzhen and to visit Macau and Suzhou for the first time. Our growing number of Chinese fans are very passionate, and I’m thrilled to see them again.”

The 2019 China Tour  presented by ALL-Accor Live Limitless is the team’s third tour to China in the last six years.



It is a unique opportunity for ALL – Accor Live Limitless, the Club’s new principal sponsor, to showcase its expertise in hospitality and entertainment by hosting unique and innovative experiences.

During Paris Saint-Germain’s Summer tour in China, ALL – Accor Live Limitless will invite members to enjoy exclusive experiences with Paris Saint-Germain’s players and ambassadors, as well as having access to creative digital content.

PSG Merchandise

 Paris Saint-Germain’s players will showcase the latest designs from the Nike and Jordan collections, namely the season’s home and away strips decorated with the ALL – Accor Live Limitless’ logo, as well as a selection of items from the Parisian wardrobe that have been given a revolutionary twist by fashion designers who are also fans of the club, such as KOCHÉ.


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PEUGEOT brand’s New Partner in Thailand

The PEUGEOT brand has appointed Belfort Automobiles (Thailand), a subsidiary of the Master Group Corporation (Asia) Co., Ltd., as the new exclusive importer and distributor of PEUGEOT brand cars in Thailand.

Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) plant located in Gurun. (Pic courtesy of Naza Group)

The signing ceremony took place at the French Embassy in Bangkok and was witnessed by H.E. Mr. Jacques Lapouge, the Ambassador of France to Thailand.

PEUGEOT will introduce at least five new models in Thailand over the next couple of years. Two SUVs, the PEUGEOT 3008 and the PEUGEOT 5008 will be the first two models to be introduced in Thailand.

These two models are produced in Naza Automotive Manufacturing (NAM) plant located in Gurun, Kedah.

This is a great milestone for Groupe PSA in ASEAN where PEUGEOT now operates in 11 countries, and for NAM which has begun exporting its first productions to the Philippines followed by Thailand within the next few weeks.

MGC-ASIA is one of the leading automotive retailers and mobility companies in Thailand.  This new partnership will accelerate Groupe PSA’s development in the region and is part of the Group’s strategy to be stronger in the ASEAN market.

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Kota Seri Langat township: Speeding up growth

An artist’s impression of Kota Seri Langat township. - pic Courtesy of PNB Development

By Sharen Kaur - NST Property, July 25, 2019 

THE West Coast Expressway (WCE) is a tolled development highway from Banting, Selangor to Taiping, Perak and land along the 233km road can potentially be used for townships.

The WCE is also expected to stimulate tourism, industrial and commercial activities in Perak, Penang and Selangor due to the enhanced connectivity provided by the WCE between the Penang Port, Lumut Port, Port Klang and Westport.

Further, once the WCE is completed, it will connect the main coastal towns, including Banting, Klang, Kuala Selangor, Teluk Intan, Setiawan, Manjung and Hutan Melintang, which are now connected via a trunk road.

Area Management Sdn Bhd is among a handful of companies which have bought land where there is direct access to the WCE.

In August last year, Area Management acquired 86ha of land in Kota Seri Langat township in Banting for RM320 million.

Area Management, through its special purpose vehicle, AIDF Industrial Park Sdn Bhd, signed a sales and purchase agreement with Seriemas Development Sdn Bhd — a subsidiary of PNB Development Sdn Bhd.

PNB Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Permodalan Nasional Bhd (PNB), is the master developer of the 809.37ha Kota Seri Langat and is responsible for the master plan and development of major infrastructure.

The landbank was acquired in 1996 from Dusun Durian Plantation Ltd, a subsidiary of Golden Hope Plantations Bhd.

The development of Kota Seri Langat had started with the sale of several parcels of land totalling 176.04ha to other developers between 2001 and 2008.

A visit to the site shows hoardings and billboards are up and land clearing is ongoing, a clear sign that developments may start soon.

A spokesperson from PNB said overall, the township development is expected to finish in 2027, adding that it will include a mix of residential, commercial and industrial properties. “The current plan is to develop 763 acres (308.76ha) of residential, 596 acres (241.19ha) of commercial and 281 acres (113.72ha) of industrial, with balance land devoted to public amenities and infrastructure.”

PNB Development Sdn Bhd has put up signboards at its 809.37ha development in Kota Seri Langat.

The spokesperson said several catalytic components have already been developed onsite, namely the Kuala Langat Administrative Centre, the Syariah Courts and a hypermarket.

“We consider it a viable township given that it is strategically located within the vicinity of both seaports and airports with an even greater connectivity upon the completion of the West Coast Expressway,” the spokesperson toll NST Property.

The spokesperson said that PNB will focus on the master development of the township and will either sell to, or jointly develop the land, with established developers.

“As part of PNB’s mandate to deliver sustainable returns to its unitholders, PNB continuously seeks opportunities to optimise its investment portfolio,” the spokesperson said.

Federal Route 5 — current key road

The Kota Seri Langat land enjoys direct frontage onto the Federal Route 5, known as the Klang-Banting road, and is just 30-minutes drive from the Shah Alam Expressway (Kesas) and 10-minutes drive from the South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE).

Federal Route 5 leads to the Telok Panglima Garang-Banting-Bukit Changgang industrial corridor, an oasis of mega industrial enterprises, including the country’s largest steel plant in Olak Lempit owned by the Lion Group.

There is a huge furniture complex and a pool of electronics-based companies in Olak Lempit, with a few dozen manufacturers and traders.

Within the corridor, there’s also the Kuala Langat Paper Mills complex, home to Japanese pulp and paper giant Oji Holdings Corp.

Telok Panglima Garang, about 60km south of Kuala Lumpur city centre, has attracted a few large-scale developers like Eco World Development Group Bhd

(Eco Sanctuary), Tropicana Corp Bhd (Tropicana Aman) and IJM Land Bhd (Bandar Rimbayu).

The RM11 billion Bandar Rimbayu was unveiled in 2013 and IJM Land has launched more than 10 phases so far, including Perennia, Periwinkle, Scarlet, Wisteria, Penduline, Blossom Square and Livia.

Accessibility to the Elite highway and SKVE has been a key selling point for Bandar Rimbayu.

Eco World’s Eco Sanctuary is an eco-inspired mixed residential and commercial development, comprising semi-detached houses, zero-lot bungalows, bungalows, double-storey terraced houses and condominiums with intelligent and sustainable elements.

WCE progress

The WCE project with 21 interchanges is expected to enhance accessibility to the west coast region by reducing travel time and associated logistic costs.

The build-operate-transfer project with a concession period of up to a maximum of 60 years is jointly developed by the Public Works Department and toll concessionaire WCE Holdings Bhd’s West Coast Expressway Sdn Bhd.

Construction started in August 2014 and is expected to be completed by August 2021, excluding a 10km stretch known as Section 7b that is set to complete by December 2022.

To date, the overall completion of the construction is 63 per cent and work is still ongoing.

On May 31 this year, Section 8 of Hutan Melintang to Teluk Intan opened for traffic following the completion of construction work.

In addition, Section 9 from Kampung Lekir to Changkat Cermin and Section 10 from Changkat Cermin to Beruas will be completed in the third quarter this year.

Sections 4 and 5 are expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year, followed by Sections 1, 2, 3 and 6 in early 2021.

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Kota Seri Langat : Plan for RM4b premium industrial, logistics hub

By Sharen Kaur - Published in NST Property, July 25, 2019 

AREA Management Sdn Bhd plans to develop a RM4 billion premium logistic and manufacturing hub on its 85.79ha site in Kota Seri Langat in Banting, Selangor.

The project, which is called The COMPASS @ Kota Seri Langat, encompasses premium industrial and logistics facilities with resort style features.

Area Management executive chairman Datuk Stewart LaBrooy said The COMPASS will offer built-to-suit warehouses and manufacturing facilities with sizes ranging from 200,000 sq ft to 1,000,000 sq ft.

He said The COMPASS will also house workers’ accommodation, a small commercial development for small and medium enterprises and a clubhouse with sports facilities.

The COMPASS is the second major development by Area Management, the first being Area Logistics @ Ampang — the country’s first three-storey ramp-up inner-city mega distribution hub with 1.5 million sq ft of warehouse space.

Area Logistics @ Ampang will be fully ready by year-end.

The COMPASS will offer premium industrial and logistics facilities with resort-style features.

The COMPASS, which will take about five years to build, is set to be Selangor’s first gated and guarded, fully integrated and serviced industrial and logistics park.

LaBrooy told NST Property that The COMPASS will be a catalyst for the 958.70ha development in Kota Seri Langat by master developer, PNB Development Sdn Bhd.

He said he was attracted to the land in Kota Seri Langat because of the dedicated interchange from the West Coast Expressway (WCE).

“PNB is building a road through their development all the way to the interchange. It’s all about connectivity. The WCE is a big game-changer for Klang Valley. It is another huge highway project that connects many places between Selangor and Perak with more than 20 interchanges.

“This area is one of the busiest in Selangor. There is explosive growth of industries moving here. New players are coming into the market and they require warehousing and manufacturing facilities. We feel this is the right time to build. As we speak, there are investors talking to us and they require big space for their businesses.

“I am optimistic about this development ... we are close to Westport and Northport, and the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). The WCE will take you all the way to Malaysia Airlines Bhd’s headquarters in KLIA, connecting you to Nilai and Seremban. We are targeting big logistics firms and multinational companies (MNCs) which have interactions with the ports and airport,” said LaBrooy.

Datuk Stewart LaBrooy, Area Management executive chairman

He said Kota Seri Langat also has good catchment, demographics and workforce which makes it suitable for a large-scale industrial development.

Land clearing has started and construction is expected to commence in the third or fourth quarter of this year.

“Land has been stabilised and it is ready for construction. It’s all plug and play and the development will take five years,” LaBrooy said.

He said there is a need to reinvent industrial real estate offerings in the country with emerging new global trends and demands in the industrial and logistics sectors worldwide.

“We need to take advantage of the wave of investments arising from China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) and MNCs diversifying their operations to Malaysia to reduce any risk coming from any impending trade wars,” he said.

Logistics/industrial sub-sector to remain favourable Independent global property consultancy firm, Knight Frank said the logistics/industrial sub-sector is expected to remain favourable this year, mainly due to strong inflow of foreign direct investments into the manufacturing sector.

According to Knight Frank’s second edition of New Frontiers: Prospects for Real Estate Along the Belt and Road Initiative launched in April, Chinese entities have more than tripled their investments into Southeast Asia’s transport, real estate and logistics sectors, from US$17.1 billion (RM billion) between 2009 and 2013 to US$59.25 billion from 2014 to last year.

Bolstered by investments under the China’s BRI banner, interest from cross-border real estate investors to Southeast Asia’s industrial sector increased in tandem, from US$330 million between 2009 and 2015 to a peak of US$1.4 billion in 2017 — a 72 per cent market share of total industrial investments — the report showed.

Last year, cross-border industrial investment was US$805 million, 40 per cent higher than the annual average of US$570 million over the past five years, while in the first quarter of this year, cross-border investments topped US$480 million and are expected to exceed last year’s volumes.

Knight Frank Asia Pacific head of research, Nicholas Holt said the BRI is having an impact on the industrial and logistics sector in Southeast Asia, as new infrastructure fuels growth prospects across sectors.

“With increasing demand from domestic and international occupiers, rental growth has strengthened in most markets, which in turn has attracted cross-border investors. These large volumes of capital investment have driven both rapid development and gentrification of older stock.”

Malaysia has been a major beneficiary of Chinese capital with investment totalling US$43.8 billion over the past 10 years, said Holt.

Knight Frank Malaysia executive director of Capital Markets, Allan Sim said following the change of government in May last year, a number of Chinese investments and projects, especially mega infrastructure projects, had been deferred.

However, the presence of Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Malaysian business delegates at the recently-concluded second BRI Forum for international cooperation coupled with his intention to expedite the setting up of a one-stop centre to ease foreign investment-related approvals, bring assurance and confidence to Chinese firms to reconsider investing in Malaysia.

“Furthermore, with the new agreements for revival of the ECRL and Bandar Malaysia, Chinese firms will certainly be looking more seriously at Malaysia again and the industrial segment will benefit the most. In particular, we expect more high-tech manufacturers from China to operate in Malaysia by taking advantage of Malaysia’s adequate supply of raw materials, coupled with relatively lower operating costs in running businesses,” said Sim.

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HOC — key to locking higher sales

By NST Property - July 25, 2019 

Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia (Rehda) president Datuk Soam Heng Choon expects the Home Ownership Campaign (HOC) to play a key role in boosting property transactions this year.

“The market is still soft but based on a survey by Rehda, property developers are more optimistic with HOC. Developers are also optimistic because there is a sign of pick-up in the economy.

“The issue of access to financing must be addressed. If people don’t have right access to margin, that is when the problem will come. We hope banks will give the right margins for financing,” Soam told NST Property.

Strict conditions imposed by banks on home loan applicants remain the biggest hurdle in the property market, even as the government seeks to encourage home ownership by waiving stamp duty fees for buyers under the HOC, which ends on December 31 this year.

The HOC was initially slated to end by June 30 this year but because of strong interest during the first half of this year, the government had decided to extend the home ownership campaign to encourage more people to buy.

Datuk Soam Heng Choon, Real Estate and Housing Developers Association Malaysia President

The campaign is to help Malaysians own their first home at a lower price and cost, while also addressing the property supply overhang.

HOC offers stamp duty waivers for properties priced between RM300,000 and RM1 million, and three per cent stamp duty for properties priced between RM1 million and RM2.5 million. It also offers 0.5 per cent stamp duty on bank loans for properties up to RM2.5 million.

Soam said Rehda expects the HOC performance in the second half of this year to be better than the first six months as more people are aware of HOC.

“A lot of people realise that this is the best time to buy. Developers have a lot of stock and they will give minimum 10 per cent discount and a lot of freebies,” he said.

Soam advised buyers to look at location, pricing and product before buying.

“If you have choosen the location, then you must get the property from a renowned developer. In terms of pricing, it must be right for the buyer where they can afford downpayment and get the right margin for financing. For product, if you want landed property, then you must be willing to go to the outskirts of the city.”

Soam, speaking for Rehda, advises developers to be cautious when launching properties.

He said developers should also do a lot more robust registrations before entering to the market.

“At least they can gauge the demand and from there decide what number of units to launch,” said Soam.

AmInvestment Bank Bhd said the local residential market has been challenging in the past three years, mainly due to high property prices, stricter lending policies, volatile macroeconomic conditions and weaker consumer sentiment.

Pavilion REIT is doing well due to its strong management and brand name. - Pavilion Mall pic

It said most developers under its coverage reported lower new sales year-on-year.

Only Sunway Bhd achieved stronger new sales year-on-year, while IOI Properties Group sales were similar to the previous year level with both developers being supported by strong take-ups in China and Singapore.

AmInvestment Bank is also not expecting surprises in earnings for the next 12 months with the current local market conditions.

“The outlook for the Malaysian property sector remains subdued in the near term on the back of a slow residential market, as developers work to address the overhang issue. The last 12 to 18 months have seen some changes whereby the residential property market has been adjusting to mass-market affordable housing while developers have slowed down their launches and are working hard to clear unsold units to reduce the overhang situation,” it said.

AmInvestment Bank said developers are more aggressive in clearing unsold units by offering discounts and the inventory level is on a declining trend.

Industrial properties and REITs up

AmInvestment Bank said demand remains stable for industrial properties, driven by the logistics and warehousing segments which are largely supported by the emergence of e-commerce.

It said the preference for logistic warehouses will likely continue to be within the Klang Valley, largely in Shah Alam, where there is a large concentration of manufacturing activities and distribution centres.

As for retail real estate investment trusts (REITs), this segment remains resilient and the outlook for retail properties, especially shopping malls, is expected to remain stable in the short to medium term.

“This is demonstrated by Pavilion REIT and Sunway REIT, where both have high occupancy rates in their shopping malls. We believe the high occupancy rates are also due to strong management and brand names of the REITs, in addition to shopping complexes becoming one-stop centres for the Malaysian lifestyle, providing food and beverage and entertainment options,” said AmInvestment Bank.

The outlook for the office sector, however, will be negative in the medium term due to oversupply.

AmInvestment Bank said in the next three to four years, 20 million sq ft of additional office space are targeted for completion in Greater Kuala Lumpur.

“Market absorption remains slow,” it said.

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Tan Sri Vincent Tan sets sights on Iceland

By Sharen Kaur - Published in NST Property, July 25, 2019

TAN SRI Vincent Tan Chee Yioun, one of Malaysia’s most successful and renowned businessmen and the founder of Berjaya Group, has a liking for posh hotels and continues to invest in them.

Early this year, Berjaya Corp Bhd (BCorp) said it is investing about US$400 million (RM1.64 billion), inclusive of land cost, to build Okinawa’s most outstanding property — Okinawa Four Seasons and Private Residences Okinawa.

The gross development value (GDV) of Four Seasons Resort and Private Residences Okinawa is expected to be US$1 billion.

The development is being carried out on some 40ha of beachfront land, located along the western coast of the island of Okinawa. It will comprise 120 hotel rooms, 120 residences and 40 villas on a 12ha of the project development land area and would take about four years to complete.

Berjaya Group executive chairman Tan Sri Vincent Tan

Tan had said that Okinawa Four Seasons would “set a new standard”.

This is Tan’s second Four Seasons project in Japan. The first is Four Seasons Hotel and Hotel Residences in Kyoto, which opened in December 2016.

It had been reported that Tan is mulling to sell the Kyoto hotel for about US$700 million to US$800 million, which translates to a gain of US$400 million.

Last week BCorp’s subsidiary, Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand), announced that it was buying a 75 per cent stake in Icelandair Hotels for US$53.63 million.

Icelandair Hotels is Iceland’s premier hotel chain, and the trusted source for comfortable, affordable accommodations for visitors and locals alike since 1966.

It operates 20 hotels across Iceland (1,811 rooms), which have an enterprise value of US$136 million.

In addition, the hotelier will open a new 145-room hotel at Austurvollur Square in Reykjavik’s Parliament district in collaboration with Hilton Hotels next year.

The total size of the company’s real estate is 17,738 sq m and includes Hilton Canopy Reykjavik, Icelandair Hotel Akureyri, Icelandair Hotel Myvatn and Icelandair Hotel Herad.

Last year, the revenue of Icelandair Hotels was US$97 million. Its aggregate earnings before interests, taxation, depreciation and amortisation of the hotel operations amounted to US$12 million.

Berjaya Group plans to sell the Four Seasons Kyoto in Japan. - Sourced from https://www.fourseasons.com/kyoto/

Tan, who is BCorp executive chairman, said the investment in Icelandair Hotels was at a low entry cost, with an average cost/price of about US$75,096 per room.

“We look forward to working with the Icelandair Group. I believe this investment represents a good long-term value for Berjaya Group,” he said in a statement.

The acquisition included a put and call option on the remaining 25 per cent and BLand said the completion of the transaction is set for year-end.

According to Tan, the Iceland deal will complement BLand’s existing portfolio of 19 city and resort hotels located in Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, Sri Lanka, Seychelles and the United Kingdom.

The Berjaya chain of hotels and resorts include one of Tan’s all-time favourite asset, Berjaya Times Square in Kuala Lumpur.

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Creating stylish flower gardens

By NST Property

A BEAUTIFUL garden can be a wonderful addition to your home. It can be a crafted place of beauty lined by vibrant flowers.

But, like most good things in life it will require some work.

There are several types of garden styles and layouts you could consider to make your outdoor space lively. Here are three ideas:

Flower Garden

A flower garden offers the chance to create a bright, vibrant display in your outdoor space. It is best to have a combination of annual flowers and perennials.

Annual flowers have a year-long lifecycle that see them blossom. Some favourite annuals are petunias, marigolds, begonia, celosia, chrysanthemum and dahlias. Celosia come in a variety of shapes like brains, fans, and plumes and a range of colours, namely pink, red, orange, and yellow.

Plus, they grow fast and are incredibly easy to care for. Dahlias are stunning flowers and they will make your garden beds look lush. They’re incredibly easy to grow and with proper care, you can dig up and reuse the tubers year after year. Annual plants in general, they can live for over two years.

Before they start to wither, you can replace them with a new range. This way your flower garden will always be bright with colourful flowers.

Perennial plants are leafier flowering plants that do not have to be replanted each year. These plants have structures, such as bulbs and rhizomes, that allow them to survive for many years.

Among the popular perennial plants are aster that come in a variety of hues, adding just the right pop of colour to your garden, hydrangea, which is a colourful perennial shrub that will grow back fuller and larger each year, and shasta daisy. It’s important that you select the right mix of colours and plant types when planning your flower garden. That way you get a bed of vibrant flowers all year around.

Rock Garden

Rock garden designs can range from sprawling, naturalistic creations to rustic mounds of stones, soil, and plants. The choice depends on what you prefer, the available stones or rocks you can get a hold off, and how much space there is in the garden.

If you have a small area, the best design is a simple, round raised bed made of certain rocks. This can fit neatly into any nook or corner.

A well-designed rock garden incorporates elements of the natural area around it. What you require are rocks, stones, sandy soil, which provides good drainage, and foliage. Select plants with good colour scheme that will work well with your stones/rocks, or succulents. Also choose plants that thrive in well-drained soil. Clear the area or grass where you want to plant. Lay out a circle of rocks as the perimeter of your base, fill the area inside with sandy soil, and start planting.

Once you are done planting, add stones all around, forming a circle within a circle.

Alternatively, you can also get a range of leafy non-flowering plants, and sculptures with big rocks to add to the corner. This may cost slightly more, but would require very little maintenance.

Water Garden

A water garden is costlier to build than rock garden or flower garden, but it is more attractive as the water features provides a soothing sound.

Water can be calming, providing a gentle reflection of the world around it, adding quality to the landscape.

Similar to a rock garden, find a nook or corner to build your water garden. The challenge is designing the right system to create a continuous flow of soothing water.

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Gamuda Cove future proof with Maxis' 5G

By AK Grewal

Gamuda Land and Maxis have formed a strategic partnership to appoint the latter as the preferred connectivity and solutions provider to create Malaysia’s first Maxis-delivered 5G township for Gamuda Cove, when 5G is eventually launched here.
  

Artist impression of Gamuda Cove (courtesy of Gamuda Land)

5G is the next generation of mobile communications. Once it is available at Gamuda Cove, it means much more than just enhanced connectivity with speeds of up to 10 times higher than what the 4G network can do today.

Importantly, it opens up the community to unimaginable possibilities of smart technologies. The current 4G era has enabled technologies such as seamless mobile and cloud applications. By evolving to 5G, it will enable much higher speed data transfer, low latency and greater reliability. What the community will be witnessing is a quantum leap into more possibilities, where technology like the Internet of Things (IoT) sensors and devices, autonomous vehicles as well as robotic applications that need to utilize and load a vast amount of data will be ubiquitous in the township.

The partnership will see both parties exploring smart city and smart retailing solutions across all Gamuda Land townships in Malaysia.

Gamuda Land will also work with Maxis to fibre up parts of Gamuda Cove with its high-speed broadband connectivity, opening up even more possibilities for digital services for the township’s community as well as businesses.

“This MoU is a crucial step for us towards developing smart sustainable city in Gamuda Land townships. We definitely see technology as a key enabler in driving a smart and sustainable environment into the future but a smart city is not only about cutting-edge technology. It is about smart planning ahead and visualising long-term growth for our townships,” said Ngan Chee Meng, CEO of Gamuda Land.


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ARB inks RM800 million deals with Chinese parties

ARB Bhd's wholly-owned subsidiary, ARBIOT Sdn Bhd has inked Memorandum of Agreements (MOA) with Hangzhou Mayam IoT Tech Co. Ltd and Shuifa IoT Tech Co. Ltd for the provision of water supply-related technology.

The combined project value is around RM800 million.

For the MOA with Hangzhou Mayam, it involves a strategic partnership with ARBIOT to deploy smart water meters in Malaysia to measure, collect and analyse real-time water consumption information and data, including water leakages, water pressure, date and time of water consumed households.

The Smart Water Metering project value is RM200 million.

ARB executive director and CEO (Investment & Technology) Datuk Larry Liew Kok Leong said the signing with Hangzhou Mayam is an important step in the digital transformation of utilities.

Not only will it save costs and increase revenue, but also provide greater satisfaction for customers, who are increasingly demanding the digitalisation of this type of services and a more sustainable management, he said.

For the collaboration with Shuifa, it involves the installation of Smart Household Water Filtration System that can be supplied to the public and individuals.

The project value is about RM600 million.


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Mah Sing acquires land in Kepong for RM94.9mil

Initial artist impression of M Luna in Kepong

  Mah Sing Group Berhad has acquired 5.47 acres of prime land near Taman Metropolitan in Kepong for about RM94.8 million.
  According to Mah Sing, the land is ready for immediate development as it comes with approved development order.
  Mah Sing intends to develop new “luxury you can afford” project – M Luna with a gross development value (GDV) of RM705 million.
  The plan is to develop two blocks of serviced apartments, and the affordable units would have an indicative built up from 700 square feet and indicative starting price from RM385,000.

  Registration of interest will commence in the fourth quarter of 2019, to ride on the extended timeline for the national Homeownership Campaign (HOC).
  Mah Sing is bullish on this new development as the land is just 200 meters from the 235 acre Kepong Metropolitan Park which also includes a 140 acre lake, and is right next to MRR2.
  Additionally, there are plans for an upcoming proposed infrastructure improvement within the surrounding vicinity, which includes the construction of a road and two interchanges connecting Jalan Kepong to MRR2.
  The land is also located only 3.3km to the upcoming Metro Prima MRT2 Station, which is targeted to start operations in 2021, and 4km from the Taman Wahyu KTM station.

Colombian investors push Pacific port project, threatening biodiversity hotspot

• Colombian President Iván Duque has pushed the construction of Tribugá Port in the
  Pacific department of Chocó as an economic priority for the country’s coffee-growing heartland, to increase exports to international markets.
• But the plan to build the port has provoked a fierce outcry from environmental and human rights activists, as well as local tourism operators, pushing 70 organizations to sign a declaration against its construction.
• Endangered species such as hammerhead sharks, nesting sea turtles and humpback whales visit the area on an annual basis to mate, raise their young, and migrate through.

Emboldened by a right-wing president and congressional approval, a Colombian public-private partnership is working through a licensing process to build a deepwater “megaport” on the country’s northern Pacific coast.


Arquimedes S.A., the shareholder group behind the project, aims to build the country’s second major port on the Pacific coast to accommodate supertankers, an industrial park and a free-trade zone near
the Darién Gap, an undeveloped, roadless region encompassing one of the world’s 24 biodiversity hotspots, breeding grounds for humpback whales, and collective Afro-Colombian and indigenous territories.


Since assuming office in 2018, President Iván Duque has pushed the construction of Tribugá Port in the Chocó department as an economic priority for the country’s central coffee-growing region, to increase exports to international markets. Duque’s 2018-2022 National Development Plan,
approved by Congress, gave the green light for the construction of the deepwater port and connecting transportation infrastructure between the inland town of Las Ánimas and the coastal municipality of Nuquí, the site of the planned port.


“The Tribugá Port is one of my obsessions when it comes to infrastructure matters,” Duque said at a town hall meeting in Chocó’s capital, Quibdó, two months after his August 2018 inauguration. “I believe that we must continue advancing, the port is viable as long as the Ánimas-Nuquí transportation corridor is improved … These two projects are decisive for the entire Coffee Region.”




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Construction of the megaport, estimated to cost more than $300 million, will not be paid for with public funds but rather through private investments permitted by government concession for “up to 40 years,” according to statements by the minister of transportation, Ángela María Orozco. The roadways, on the other hand, are scheduled for construction with public resources as part of a wider government initiative to connect the department of Arauca, on the border with Venezuela, to the northern Pacific coast.

Aerial view of the Gulf of Tribugá. Image courtesy of MarViva

The port project, however, still needs to be granted a permit by the National Authority of Environmental Licenses (ANLA) and a concession agreement by the National Infrastructure Agency (ANI); both regulatory agencies fall under the government’s executive branch.


The Arquimedes shareholder group emerged in 2006 during the government of right-wing former president Álvaro Uribe. The group represents governors’ offices and chambers of commerce in Chocó and the departments that make up the coffee region, as well as private construction companies. The coffee region, known as Eje Cafetero, straddles the departments of Caldas, Quindío, and Risaralda, and is the country’s fourth-largest industrial and commercial center as well as a
center of power for Uribe’s right-wing political party, Centro Democrático.


Iván Marulanda, a senator from the opposition Green Alliance, representing the coffee-growing department of Risaralda, told Mongabay that discussions about Tribugá Port first arose decades ago, but regional political players are pressing Duque to realize the project.


“I’ve known this Arquimedes group for many years. This is an old pitch that appeared decades ago, maybe 30 or 40 years ago,” Marulanda said. “Even though things have changed and there is a greater level of environmental consciousness than there was before, they still haven’t let go of the idea.”

Marulanda said the deepwater port project did not make economic sense for the coffee region because the existing port in the city of Buenaventura, about 200 kilometers (120 miles) to the south, could be
dredged to accommodate larger ships without causing nearly the same level of environmental impact as building a new port and roads through rainforest in the northern Pacific.


Arquimedes S.A. did not respond to request by email for comment on the proposed Tribugá Port.

Collective communities and foreign capital

Chocó department is largely inhabited by collective indigenous territories and Afro-Colombian communities, who, under the country’s 1991 Constitution, have been granted the right to autonomy in land management, political governance and cultural self-determination.



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The department was one of several held by guerrillas during Colombia’s decades-long civil war, and today suffers the country’s highest rates of poverty and infant mortality. The construction of the
new port therefore presents an opportunity for progress, says Carlos Felipe Mejía, a Centro Democrático senator from the neighboring department of Caldas.


According to Arquimedes president William Naranjo, the shareholder group has courted foreign investment, particularly from China and the United States. There was reported interest from Chinese port-building company China Harbour Engineering Company Ltd., and a U.S. investor, but no confirmed foreign investment in the project yet.


Read full article here - https://news.mongabay.com/2019/07/colombian-investors-push-pacific-port-project-threatening-biodiversity-hotspot/

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Reclaimed areas off shore Penang in danger?

An artist’s impression of the three man-made islands measuring 1,821ha to be built under the Penang South Reclamation project.

Are reclaimed areas off shore Penang in danger from disasters, like flooding, and perhaps soil erosion over the longer term?

The disasters would occur within 20 to 40 years of the completion of the new areas, a development planning expert predicted.

High-rise buildings, especially, would be in danger due to ground instability on the newly created islands, the New Straits Times reported.

The state is embarking on a mega coastal reclamation project in the southern part of the island, which will see the creation of three man-made islands measuring 1,821ha.

“With rising sea levels, these newly reclaimed areas will be flooded," said Professor Emeritus Dr Hans-Dieter Evers of the Institute of Malaysian and International Studies in Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

Over the past decade, experts had raised estimates on sea level rise due to climate change. Average temperatures had also risen, said Evers.

As a consequence, seawater in the oceans would expand as the polar ice caps melt, thereby increasing water in the ocean.

Evers said the predictions of seawater rise had increased from a few milimetres per year to an expected 4m by the end of this century.



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On when the disasters could strike, Evers said it depends on multiple factors like global warming, frequencies of extreme weather conditions, changes of ocean currents and carbon dioxide emissions.

The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change had estimated a sea level rise of between 18cm and 59cm by 2099, but the latest report this year raised the estimate to between 56cm and 200cm, while some research institutes were reporting as high as 4m to 6m by the end of the millennium.

Several mega coastal reclamation projects had been planned in the state, including the proposed Penang South Reclamation (PSR) project off the southern coast of the island.

The Penang government recently obtained the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) approval for the project from the Department of Environment (DoE), which came with 72 conditions.

Other mega projects included the Seri Tanjung Pinang project in Tanjung Tokong and the Gurney Drive reclamation.

Statistics showed since 1988, at least 31 land reclamation projects had been approved nationwide, including the construction of 18 artificial islands.

The largest island reclamation so far is Forest City in Johor.


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