Central i-City shopping centre to open October 2018

SHAH ALAM (Feb 18): i-City in Shah Alam is set to welcome Central i-City shopping centre in October 2018.

i-City developer I-Bhd and Bangkok-based property developer and investor Central Pattana Public Co Ltd (CPN) is in a 40:60 joint venture (JV) to develop the RM850 million shopping centre.

The shopping centre will sit on a 1.5 million sq ft freehold tract and has a net lettable area (NLA) of 940,000 sq ft with approximately 350 shops.

Senior executive vice president of business development and construction manager of CPN Wallaya Chirathivat said the shopping mall will carry brands from Malaysia, Thailand and other countries.

“We are still in the midst of doing our market research to study the market’s demands and needs before we bring in the tenants,” she said in the ground-breaking ceremony of the shopping centre yesterday.

Central i-City shopping centre is CPN’s first development outside of Thailand.

Chirathivat added that she is confident that the combination of CPN’s expertise in retail and property development with I-Bhd’s knowledge of the local real estate market will result in the best lifestyle development in the Klang Valley.

“We are excited to embark on this journey together with I-Bhd as we are convinced that we are ready to expand our business in the international market in line with our goal to be a retail property developer on a regional scale,” Chirathivat added.

The development of the shopping mall is in line with I-Bhd’s business plan of expanding its leisure and investment property business and to enjoy a strong recurring income stream from these two segments once i-City is fully developed in the next 10 years, said I-Bhd executive chairman Tan Sri Lim Kim Hong, who was also present at the event.

“We plan for i-City to be an international tourism destination, with other components of this tourism plan including three hotels planned for i-City, our own i-City performing arts and convention centre and a medical tourism hub which are still in working plans,” he added.

Minister of International Trade and Industry II Datuk Seri Ong Ka Chuan, who officiated the event, lauded the JV and said the project was a vote of confidence for the Malaysian economy.

“We welcome foreign investment in the shopping mall industry given its high potential of multiplier effects on the property and construction sectors while giving Malaysia’s tourism industry a boost,” he said.