Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on September 26, 2016.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld) yesterday launched the first phase of two new townships to target first-time homebuyers and upgraders — namely Eco Grandeur and Eco Ardence — together with a mixed development in Penang and a commercial one in Johor.

Eco Grandeur is a 1,400-acre (566.55ha) leasehold township located in Ijok, Selangor, with a gross development value (GDV) of RM12.5 billion. 

“We think there are a lot of first-time homebuyers and young families, who are part of the bigger catchment here [in Ijok] looking for gated and guarded housing,” the group’s president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah told pressmen after the launch.

Due to its suburban location, the first phase of the residential units are priced from RM488,000. “Even at this price, we are putting in all [of] EcoWorld’s DNA into the township, including connected bicycle path, greeneries and gated, guarded security,” said Chang.

Eco Ardence, on the other hand, is located adjacent to the Setia Alam township in Shah Alam, Selangor, and spans 533 acres of freehold land. It has a GDV of RM8.58 billion.

“Eco Ardence is for the upgraders’ market, because a lot of them have been staying there for many years. So a lot of them are due for upgrading because some of their children have grown up [and are] looking for better garden space, security ... there are many other reasons,” said Chang.

Under the masterplan, Eco Ardence will house 4,000 residential units, half of which will be affordable housing.

Its Penang project, Eco Bloom @ Eco Meadows, which was also launched yesterday, is a RM283-million GDV integrated high-rise commercial and residential development. It is about 10 minutes driving distance from Batu Kawan, according to Chang. Also launched was the first phase of EcoWorld’s Eco Business Park II in Iskandar Malaysia, Johor. The industrial project has a GDV of RM3 billion and will be developed on a 383-acre freehold land.

“The response and support received for the launches have been tremendously positive despite the current challenging property market. Today’s (yesterday’s) turnouts at all our EcoWorld Galleries are testament to the strong brand that we have built just over three years,” he said.

“I was also told there were overnight queues in Penang for our launch there,” he added. 

As for the company’s projects in Iskandar Malaysia, Chang said, “Based on our sales number over the last two years, we have easily done about RM3 billion sales in Iskandar alone.”

From November 2015 up to May this year, EcoWorld has launched RM7.5 billion worth of projects.

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