BY ZAZALI MUSA

Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Izzadin Idris (pic) said Batu Pahat and Muar in Johor offered good growth prospects in the property market.

ISKANDAR PUTERI: The High Speed Rail (HSR) project connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is expected to drive economic growth along its planned route, spurring companies such as UEM Group Bhd to consider launching new property development in towns such as Batu Pahat and Muar in Johor.

Group managing director and chief executive officer Datuk Izzadin Idris (pic) said the two secondary towns in Johor offered good growth prospects in the property market.

He said with Batu Pahat and Muar would benefit as the towns had been designated at three stopping stations in Johor for the HSR project.

The other station along the 350km route in Johor is Iskandar Puteri – others are Ayer Keroh, Malacca, Negri Sembilan’s Seremban, Bandar Malaysia in Kuala Lumpur and Jurong East in Singapore.

“We are weighing all options but there are no concrete plans as it is too premature to share ours with you people,’’ Izzaddin said in a press conference here yesterday.

On July 19, Malaysia and Singapore inked the memorandum of understanding to on the HSR project to be up and running by 2026, with only 90 minutes traveling times between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore.

The press conference was held to announce the UEM Group’s 50th anniversary Charity Run @ Iskandar Puteri to be held here on Aug 27, to raise about RM100,000 funds for charitable organisations.

Two similar events were held on March 13, in Kuala Lumpur and also in Kangar, Perlis on May 23, together with the Perlis Marathon 2016 – both managed to raise some RM340,000.

“The project will further boost development within Iskandar Malaysia and as the master developer of Iskandar Puteri, with 2,832.79ha undeveloped land here, we will benefit from it,’’ he said.

Similarly, Izzaddin said that demand for landed residential properties in Iskandar Malaysia was still good as buyers in south Johor still preferred landed properties to high-rise residential properties.

On that note he said the company would continue focus on the landed properties for its future launches adding that it was still upbeat on the property outlook in Iskandar Malaysia.

Among the company’s on-going projects in Iskandar Malaysia are Estuari Gardens, Gerbang Nusajaya and Horizon Hills – a joint-venture project with Gamuda Land.