KLANG: The construction of the much anticipated five-star hotel, Acmar Hotel and Residence in Klang, Selangor, has hit regulatory snags and its completion is expected to be delayed by at least three months.

Constructed by the Klang-based Acmar International Group, the property developer had initially expected to open the RM350 million hotel to its first customers in November but it has now rescheduled the project to be only completed in the first quarter of next year.

Group executive director Johnson Tee said the group had underestimated the time to obtain the necessary approvals from the authorities as it made significant changes to the hotel’s original design and concept.

“It’s taking more time than what we had estimated and we are now forced to push back our schedule. For instance, the permit for the tower crane was not as easy as we thought,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.

Tee said some management changes had also taken place and that he would personally oversee the construction work.

Tee said Acmar’s hospitality division general manager Uwe Lohage was previously spearheading the reconstruction and he has now been redesignated as the Acmar business consultant.

He added that Acmar has also hired a new senior project manager to help the company complete the much-delayed project.

The Edge weekly in its issue of Dec 15-21, 2014 reported that work on the hotel resumed last year after a 17-year hiatus, when the project ground to a halt during the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

Tee rubbished claims that the project has stalled again due to financial  problems, saying that Malaysia Building Society Bhd is providing the credit facilities.

“We have no issues of financing and we are on track to complete the hotel, albeit a small hiccup. The public will be able to see much changes to the building façade once our tower crane goes up,” he told The Edge Financial Daily.

Meanwhile, it is understood that plans to renovate Acmar’s adjoining Klang Executive Club may be postponed indefinitely.

Initial plans were for the club to be incorporated as part of the hotel with a sky bridge linking it to the hotel.

The hotel will have 23 floors divided into two wings, with the top floor being a sky lounge and there will be a total of 488 rooms, suites and serviced residences.

The hotel will cover an area of 1.13ha with a built-up of almost 850,000 sq ft. It will also have two levels of basement car park with 469 bays.

On the group’s D’Rapport Residences in Ampang, Kuala Lumpur, Tee said piling works for the high-end condominium have been completed.

He said the project with a gross development value of RM3.5 billion is on track and construction of the tower blocks would start next month.

He added that the Acmar group has yet to decide when to start selling the units, saying it is in no hurry to do so.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on June 30, 2015.