By THE STAR
I-Bhd has finalised plans to build a 2.5 million square feet regional shopping centre in its proposed RM1.5 bil i-City in Shah Alam.
Chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew in disclosing this to StarBiz said the centre would comprise a conventional shopping mall and the open-air Citywalk street mall with a 1.3 mil sq ft net lettable area.
The three-level shopping mall, slated to be the biggest in Shah Alam and Klang, and one of the biggest in the country, would boast of many unique features including an acre-sized pond in the central atrium and broadband connectivity.
“Construction work will start end of this year and is expected to be completed in 2010,” said Eu, adding that the mall would be for lease only.
“The rental will provide a long-term income stream for the group,” he added.
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An artist’s impression of the shopping mall in i-City
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Eu said the proposed shopping centre would be different in that it would be completely “wireless”.
“When you enter the mall, you can read from your hand phone or PDA the mall’s directory or receive information about events at the mall via short messaging service,” he said.
The shopping centre, shop offices and innovation centre would be developed between three and five years under Phase 1.
I-Bhd, which is expected to make an announcement about the mall at its AGM tomorrow, has entered into strategic partnerships with Intel, Telekom Malaysia, Universiti Industri Selangor (UniSel) and recently with Cisco to develop the digital capabilities of the 72-acre freehold development in Section 7, Shah Alam.
The ICT master plan for i-City will include an ICT/digital products retail centre; setting up an incubation programme, establishing a technology showcase, implementing digital technology based township services such as remote surveillance, smart car parking, information kiosks and sensory-activated light and sound multimedia displays along City Walk. The shopping centre’s retail consultant, Allan Soo is confident of its success given its prime and strategic location being just off the Federal Highway with easy accessibility to various highways.
“It is also strategically located between Klang and Shah Alam where the catchments are about 600,000 people within a 15-minute drive,” he said.
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Eu Hong Chiew
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He said Shah Alam and Klang have a population of over one million.
Soo who is managing director of Regroup Associates Sdn Bhd, a property consultancy and real estate firm, said its other strong points include its unique concept that offers a new shopping experience.
He said the total net lettable area of the mall is 840,000 sq ft with half level basement car park. When the City Walk is included the total leasable area would be 1.3 million sq ft.
Soo said although there were many shopping centres in the Klang Valley not many of them were “quality malls”.
“In order to be successful we have to differentiate in terms of trade mix, tenant mix, concept and even size. In our case the mall in i-City will be the biggest in Shah Alam and Klang and this differentiates us from the other malls.”
Concept-wise, it would also be unique in that there will be an open-air central atrium with a one-acre pond in the centre. People at the lower ground floor and basement level would be able to see a cascading waterfall while those at ground and upper ground levels would enjoy the spectacle of a big fountain and the pond. There will be four entrances.
“There will be alfresco F&B outlets around it,” he said, adding that the proposed mall would be a “mid-mid market” mall unlike the Mid Valley Megamall that is positioned as a “mass mid market” shopping centre.
Soo said talks were in progress with several famous international parties to look into the feasibility of jointly developing the mall. “Having a renowned international party would give a strong branding to the entire development. Over the long-term we may put it (shopping centre) into a REIT,” he added.
The mall will boasts of state-of-the-art security features such as IP surveillance with integration to the Intruder Alert Systems.
Selangor State Executive Councillor Datuk Ch’ng Toh Eng, who is chairman of the state Multimedia, Environment & Village Development Portfolio said the state government hoped that Rapid KL could provide feeder service between i-City and the KTM station at Kampung Padang Jawa and for the LRT to be extended from Kelana Jaya to i-City as well. “We have held talks with the parties concerned on the matter,” said Ch’ng who is also chairman of the steering committee for i-City.
