Malaysia's largest urban project Medini launched

Published: 2008/10/07

Medini is Iskandar's first sizeable world-class offering to the international property space and is expected to bring in over US$20 billion in gross development value

MALAYSIA'S single largest urban development to date, Medini, was officially launched at the GCC's annual property investment event, Cityscape Dubai, yesterday.The catalyst development, previously referred to as 'Node 1', is located in Iskandar Malaysia and is expected to bring in gross development value (GDV) in excess of US$20 billion (RM69.6 billion) over a period of 15 to 20 years.In a statement, Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB) managing director Arlida Ariff said Medini is Iskandar Malaysia's first sizeable world-class offering to the international property space. "The development is undoubtedly strong in its strategic positioning, government backing, and supporting infrastructure and resources and when you add the invaluable commitment, experience and expertise of our Middle-Eastern partners - we're looking at a winning formula," she added.

IIB's Middle-Eastern business partners in the development include
Rim City Sdn Bhd (RCSB),
Cultural Cluster Sdn Bhd (CCSB) and
Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala),
with the latter leading a consortium called
Global Capital comprising other well-known industry players
ALDAR Properties PSJC (ALDAR) and
Millennium Development International (Millennium).

CCSB is a special purpose vehicle which is majority-owned by
Al-Nibras 2 Limited, a Labuan-based private fund company managed by
Kuwait Finance House (Labuan) Bhd (KFHLB).
The other shareholders are
Khazanah, the government investment authority of Malaysia and the parent company of IIB, and
Jumeirah Capital.

Medini is set to be a 920ha international mixed-use urban development, located on prime greenfield land in the heart of Nusajaya, Johor. "We decided to capitalise on the exposure provided by the Cityscape platform to launch Medini, and in tandem, open up a limited number of exclusive opportunities within our space here for commitment from keen investors," said Richard Polkinghorne, country director of Millennium.

The company, highly experienced in large scale and mixed-use projects, will drive the 146ha International Financial District (IFD) set to be the world-class hub of Islamic Finance in Southeast Asia, with the presence of international financial institutions, banks and corporations.

Another segment in Medini known as the Lifestyle and Leisure Cluster is headed by Mubadala, whose plans include the development of 496ha of land into a City Centre, Golf Village, Medical and Wellness Village, Amusement Bay and a Residential District.

Lastly, CCSB will undertake 249.6ha in Medini to build the Creative Cluster which will include the Heritage District, Creative Park and Logistics Village.

IIB holds a 30 per cent stake across these collaborations in the Medini development. "Malaysia's long-term economic objectives will be strongly perpetuated with every success and progress made in Iskandar Malaysia. The launch of Medini is an important milestone for us, as we are now beginning to unlock our country's true potential to be a globally competitive nation," IIB chairman Tan Sri Azman Mokhtar added.

Blogger's note:
Int'l Financial District: 146ha, Millennium
Lifestyle Cluster: 496ha (largest chunk), Mu badala
Creative Cluster: 250ha, Cultural Cluster(CCSB)