By ZAZALI MUSA | Sep 10, 2009

SATS to unveil first component

SENAI: Senai Airport Terminal Services Sdn Bhd (SATS) will launch the first of three “components” of the multi-billion ringgit Senai Aviation & Airport City project by year-end.

Deputy chief executive officer Shahrull Allam Abdul Halim said the first component, on a 323.74ha site, comprised residential, commercial and hospitality amenities.

The other two components in the mixed development project are an air cargo logistics centre and a high-tech park, each occupying a 404.68ha site.

“The first component’s launch involves the commercial and hospitality segment while the residential side will take place when the time is appropriate,’’ Shahrull told StarBiz in an interview.

He said the initial launch would cover a 12.94ha site, of which 10.52ha would be for the commercial precinct and 2.42ha for the hospitality section.

“The hospitality component, comprising two hotel blocks and a convention centre, will be developed in three phases and the project will take 24 months to complete,’’ he said.

The development of the hotels and the convention centre will come under Johor-based Tiong Nam Logistics Holdings Bhd, according to Shahrull.
 

Shahrull said apart from factory outlets, the commercial area would also have logistics and warehousing facilities.

“We want to position the commercial area as a regional wholesale centre to attract buyers from countries in the region,’’ he said, adding that an international wholesale operator with a similar operation in Dubai had decided to invest in the commercial project and would manage the wholesale centre while SATS would provide the land.

SATS subsidiary Enigma Harmoni Sdn Bhd, which is linked to billionaire Tan Sri Syed Mokhtar Al-Bukhary, has received approval from the Kulai Municipal Council for the airport city project.

MMC International Holdings Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Syed Mokhtar’s MMC Corp Bhd, has stakes in Senai International Airport, Port of Tanjung Pelepas and Johor Port.

The entire development, which is located next to the Senai Airport, also includes a Customs Inspection Quarantine Complex and will take about 10 years to complete.

The project is estimated to cost about RM1.2bil with the Senai Airport Hi-Tech Park set to be the second high-tech park in the country after Kulim Hi-Tech Park in Kedah.

Opened in 1974, Senai Airport is managed by SATS, which took over the operations of the airport from Malaysia Airport Holdings Bhd in 2003.