Commencement of works officially begins for the project and retail mall component
DBKL executive director (planning) Datuk Hj. Mohd Najib bin Hj. Mohd, Mitsui Fudosan Asia deputy managing director and chief regional officer to Malaysia Takehito Fukui, Mitsui Fudosan Company Limited managing officer Osamu Obayashi, Ambassador of Japan to Malaysia Dr. Makio Miyagawa, Mitsui Fudosan Co Ltd executive managing officer Akihiko Funaoka, Prime Minister of Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Haji Abdul Razak, UDA Holdings Bhd and BBCC Development Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Shafei Abdullah, Finance Minister II of Malaysia Datuk Seri Johari Abd Ghani, Deputy Minister of Federal Territories Senator Dato’ Dr. Loga Bala Mohan, Eco World Development Group Berhad chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin and Employees Provident Fund CEO Datuk Shahril Ridza Ridzuan.
KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) moved a step closer to realising its vision of becoming Kuala Lumpur’s new icon with the recent ground-breaking ceremony for the commencement of works for the development and the retail mall held concurrently.
BBCC and Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport KL (LaLaport KL) officially enter the construction stage with its groundbreaking by Prime Minister Dato’ Sri Mohd Najib bin Tun Haji Abdul Razak.
In October last year, BBCC entered into a joint-venture (JV) with Mitsui Fudosan Asia for the establishment, ownership, management and operation of a joint-venture company, MFBBCC Retail Mall Sdn Bhd (JVCo) that will own and operate the estimated RM1.6 billion Retail Mall at BBCC. The agreement sees Mitsui Fudosan Asia owning 50% of the shares in the JVCo with the remaining 50% owned by the shareholders of BBCC Development Sdn Bhd namely UDA Holdings Berhad, Eco World Development Group Berhad and the Employees Provident Fund Board.
IJM Construction Sdn Bhd is appointed the design and construction contractor while Studio Taku Shimizu Inc of Japan is involved in the environmental design of LaLaport KL.
The development of BBCC is an integral part of the Government’s Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) for Greater KL/Klang Valley to act as a key driver of economic growth to propel the country’s economy further. BBCC’s masterplan aspires to bring back Bukit Bintang’s former vibrancy – its past culture, arts and live entertainment during its heydays will be creatively recrafted to merge with modern-day office, commercial and residential amenities that will transform BBCC into a vibrant integrated development living up to its tagline of ‘Where Life is Spectacular’.
The partnership with Mitsui Fudosan Asia reflects the best of Malaysian ingenuity working hand-in-hand with international expertise to offer the highest quality living, working and business environment in line with the nation’s ambitions for Kuala Lumpur to be a truly world-class city.
The retail mall will be the first LaLaport branded shopping mall in Southeast Asia and is positioned to be Mitsui Fudosan Asia’s flagship project in the region scheduled to open in 2021. This LaLaport will have over 300 stores with a net lettable area of 0.9 million square feet. Mitsui Fudosan Asia will be inviting new to market tenants both from Japan and abroad, and will propose a new urban lifestyle to the people of Kuala Lumpur through concepts including culture, hobby and education.
Mitsui Fudosan Asia as the development manager of the retail mall will lead its development, leasing and operations leveraging on its extensive experience and expertise cultivated in managing LaLaport assets and various retail projects in Japan and in overseas such as China, Taiwan and Malaysia.
The retail mix of the mall will be differentiated through as strong mix of Japanese and international restaurants and specialty stores which will be actively recruited to launch their first establishments in the country to complement highly popular local Malaysian brands in the areas of fashion, food and entertainment.
BBCC will also ensure that the mall is easily accessible with 3 tunnels bringing shoppers directly into the underground parking with approximately 2,400 carparks for the retail mall and about 2,000 bays for other commercial components. BBCC will build a new transit hub to provide direct access to the existing Hang Tuah LRT and Monorail stations which are in front of the development and also to connect to the Merdeka PNB 118 MRT station which will be opening soon.
“We are very pleased that the joint effort of UDA Holdings Berhad, Eco World Development Group Berhad and the Employees Provident Fund (EPF) to develop this iconic site has also succeeded in attracting major global companies such as Mitsui Fudosan Asia and Sony Music Japan to co-invest in this exciting project.
We are extremely delighted to have formed a joint-venture partnership between Mitsui Fudosan Asia and the shareholders of BBCC to develop the RM 1.6 billion Mitsui Shopping Park LaLaport KL. This 1.4 million square feet retail mall will be the flagship commercial component in BBCC and it gives us great joy to celebrate the ground breaking for LaLaport KL in our joint ceremony,” said UDA Holdings Bhd and BBCC Development Sdn Bhd chairman Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Shafei Abdullah, according to a statement.
“Our development concept for shopping malls is “Growing together”. Shopping malls are not just a place to purchase the daily necessities, but for discoveries and new experiences,” said Mitsui Fudosan Co., Limited executive managing officer Akihiko Funaoka.
“The year of 2017 is a commemorative year marking the 60th year of diplomatic relationship between Malaysia and Japan. BBCC is the joint venture project by great players of both countries. We are confident that this Project will enhance the friendship between the two countries,” added Funaoka.
The LaLaport KL retail facility is further complemented by the Entertainment Hub which will feature a first-of-its-kind Zepp Kuala Lumpur concert Hall. This 2,500 capacity concert hall will boast state-of the-art sound, visual and lighting technology, synonymous with the Sony Music Entertainment brand.
In Japan, Zepp currently operates 6 concert halls in 5 major cities, with new halls opening in Fukuoka in 2018 and Yokohama in 2020. Their halls regularly host top international artistes and music legends.
Zepp is now expanding into the South East Asian market with new venues in confirmed cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Taipei as well as future sites being sourced in Jakarta and other ASEAN capitals.
The Entertainment Hub will also be home to the unique concept of the Malaysia Grand Bazaar (MGB), which is set to become an amazing tourist destination with a truly Malaysian flavour unlike anything we have seen before. Its specially curated internal environment with heritage-inspired architecture will be complemented by carefully choreographed seasonal cultural performances and interactive arts and craft demonstration for visitors to participate.
With its recent groundbreaking ceremony, BBCC is off to a flying start to become the nucleus of growth for Greater Kuala Lumpur. The development was also recently recognised at the StarProperty.my Awards 2017 which was organized by StarProperty.my honoring developers that build sustainable and better living environment. BBCC was accorded two awards – the Just Walk Award for its transit-oriented development initiatives which addresses the future of urban living and the Wow Developments Award which honours BBCC for its iconic concept and architecture.
