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Berita Terkini - Mac 2011

1. Pembinaan Sekolah Kebangsaan Cina yang telah siap dibina dan telah beroperasi. Cepat sungguh pembinaan sekolah tersebut, tak sampai setahun pun. Katanya sekolah-sekolah yang seumpamanya di Rawang telah penuh serta sesak dan tindakan membina Sekolah tersebut adalah tepat.

2. Pejabat Majlis Daerah Hulu Selangor berpindah ke Bukit Sentosa. Perkara ini tak dapat dipastikan. Ada juga pembinaan bangunan pejabat sedang dibina di sebelah stesyen minyak ESSO.

3. Pembangunan Kompleks perniagaan TESCO. Ini memang sahih. Pembinaan sedang rancak dibina. Ada TESCO best juga boleh jadikan mobile office. Kat area situ P1 punya coverage memang tip top. Cuma tak banyak premis yang sediakan tempat nak surfing internet beserta power socket elektrik. Restoren Salam kat Bukit Sentosa tu pulak crowded sangat.

4. Projek kompleks dan deretan kedai, pejabat dan bank sedang di bina sepanjang laluan antara Tol Bukit Beruntung hingga ke Bandar Bukit Sentosa.

5. Sebuah Universiti Madinah akan dibina diantara Bukit Beruntung dan Bandar Bukit Sentosa.

6. Pembinaan jalanraya dari Bukit Sentosa 3 ke Serendah. Jalan potong tanpa melalui Jalan Sungai Choh


Monday, March 28, 2011

MINES GOLF CITY IN THE MAKING - BUKIT BERUNTUNG

By Rosalynn Poh
Email us your feedback at fd@bizedge.com


Mines Resort City founder Tan Sri Lee Kim Yew has earned a reputation as a developer who transforms the ordinary, even the unwanted, into something highly coveted. This can be seen in his Country Heights Kajang development which was launched during the recession in the 1980s. He also turned what was once the world's biggest open cast tin mine into The Mines Resort City, where an impressive list of Malaysia's business and political elite now operate and reside.

Lee, the deputy chairman of Country Heights Holdings Bhd (CHHB), has now taken on another massive challenge — building a world-class golf course-cum-residential development akin to the world's largest golf course complex, namely, China's famed 216-hole Mission Hills Golf Club. Making his task even more difficult is Lee's decision to locate his golf course project, called Mines Golf City, in the vicinity of Bukit Beruntung, a languishing township in Selangor which seems to have been bypassed by development.

Lee, who earlier this year relinquished his position as CHHB group managing director to focus on his personal ventures, showed he was up to the task when he recruited women's golf legend and former world No 1 Annika Sorenstam to design the first 18 holes of the Mines Golf City. Lee owns a 48.1% stake in CHHB.

The ambitious Mines Golf City will feature a 63-hole golf course, the country's largest, along with residential development. And if the developer succeeds in obtaining approval to manage the existing 36-hole Bukit Beruntung Golf & Country Club, adjacent to the Mines Golf City site and owned by the Selangor state government, that would create an unprecedented 99-hole golf course in the country and give credence to Lee's claim of making his golf development Southeast Asia's Mission Hills.

Mines Golf City, which comes under Mines Golf City Sdn Bhd, is a 70:30 joint venture between Lee's privately owned company and CHHB. Bungalow lots, from half an acre to two acres and tagged at between RM50 and RM80 psf, will be available for sale. With a gross development value of RM3 billion, the project spans a 2,100-acre freehold tract formerly known as Rasa Estate. The acquisition of the land was completed in January this year.

Touch of golfing great

It was an early Saturday morning and this writer found herself standing on a small, cleared elevated spot on the former Rasa Estate near Bukit Beruntung. Along with several other journalists, we watched a helicopter circle around the estate with Lee himself and Sorenstam on board, before finally landing on a temporary helipad. The group was then taken on a tour of part of the future golf course.

Lee believes Sorenstam is the right choice as, with her commitment and character, "she fits into our development". He first approached her during a golf tournament in Australia last year. "It is an honour for me that Annika has agreed to design her first golf course in Malaysia in Mines Golf City. With this 63-hole golf course development, the world will take a better look at our country," says Lee, adding that while there has been an increase in new golfers, there have not been many new golf courses in Malaysia.

Sorenstam, who walked away from competitive golfing after the Ladies European Tour in Dubai last weekend (Dec 11-14), says she's proud to be involved in such a world-class development. "It is very important to preserve the environment, spirit and traditions of the game. The creation of a variety of tees with generous landing area gives each individual an opportunity to be challenged based on their level of skill, while smaller greens and challenges will make it a true and fair test to remember." She says her immediate plans after retirement would be to focus on her business and her wedding next month.

On her impression of the site, Sorenstam says it is a beautiful and peaceful place with natural terrain: "I am thrilled with what I have seen today... it is like an open book and I can then start drawing."
Initial plans for the Mines Golf City, which is expected to be completed within six years, includes a golfing academy, medical tourism, a health clinic and spa, international school, an equestrian academy, a diving academy, a country retail mall and a world-class entertainment centre.

Lee says there are three phases planned for the development, with 400 bungalow lots available in the first phase. The lots, some 20,000 sq ft in size, will be sold for around RM50 to RM80 psf. Buyers are encouraged to build single-storey and 1½-storey bungalows and homeowners will be encouraged to allocate about 5% of their land to set up their own organic farms for a healthier and environment-friendly lifestyle.

Overcoming negative perceptions

Bukit Beruntung is about a 45-minute drive from the Kuala Lumpur city centre and seems to have acquired an unwanted stigma due to the number of abandoned houses and the lack of amenities such as hospitals and schools. A recent drive into the township revealed many abandoned and vandalised homes amidst a few occupied houses, and generally badly maintained areas with high grasses lining the roads.

Will the upcoming Mines Golf City development be a boost for existing investors in Bukit Beruntung? Lee says he surveyed the area before making the decision to proceed. "While other people see it as a stigma, I see it as an opportunity," he adds.

"Merely building something beautiful is no use. You have to do it right to attract people. Look at how Mines was carved and turned around, and [the same with] the Borneo Highlands Resort in Sarawak," says Lee, adding that many people want to choose Malaysia as a golfing destination.

"I am an entrepreneur and I have my own ideas. I believe Malaysians must re-invest in the country. The two highest value properties are those facing water and golf courses. Golf properties are very much sought after and valuable, second only to waterfront properties, and I believe that when building a golf course, it is like building a garden," he tells City & Country.

Lee's vision is that Mines Golf City will set the next trend in living — beautiful living just outside the city. "It will exude the same elegance and style as other world-class golf courses in the world, such as The Wentworth Estate in England, Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai, The Heritage in Ireland and Hua Hin in Thailand," he adds.

Metrohomes Sdn Bhd director See Kok Loong says investors-cum-golfers would definitely be keen on investing if Mines Golf City is developed well, like Mission Hills. "I believe Mines Golf City needs to attract international golf tourists to stay there," adds See. He says golf holidays are leisure and tourism activities that are doing very well in Kota Kinabalu, and believes that with detailed planning and enough financial strength, Mines Golf City will be a success.

Henry Butcher Malaysia Sdn Bhd president Lim Eng Chong feels that Mines Golf City is going to be "good and exciting" for the Bukit Beruntung area. "When housing development was first launched there in the 1990s, it received good response. Most purchasers were actually investors and speculators, not end users," says Lim, adding that initially not many people moved into the area as they preferred to "wait until other people moved in first".


See says Talam Corp Bhd started developing Bukit Beruntung in the 1990s when the housing market was very positive and there was speculation that the new airport (now the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang) would be in the north of the Klang Vallley.

"Then the 1997/98 Asian financial crisis happened and the KLIA airport was located in the south instead. Developers in Bukit Beruntung and Bukit Sentosa focused on low and medium-cost housing instead, and with the increase in highway tolls, it was difficult to sustain new development there," See tells City & Country.

Up for auction

Furthermore, says See, many investors in Bukit Beruntung did not move in and this resulted in an "empty" township. "From early 2000 onwards, we have seen a lot of auctioned properties there and it continues until today. It would be quite difficult to see a comeback for the area as prices are going down so low," he says. See cites an example of an apartment that was sold between RM40,000 and RM60,000 in the 1990s that is now up for sale at between RM5,000 and RM6,000.

Indeed, a quick search online shows many low-cost and medium-cost properties in Bukit Beruntung up for auction. An auctioneer, who prefers to remain anonymous, says many purchasers of properties in the area were primarily investors paying 10% to 20% upfront and expecting rental yield.

"When those properties were completed, they were also vandalised. I was told that the lack of Chinese and Tamil schools there was also an important issue for families," he says. The auctioneer adds that, since August this year, he has had bungalow lots up for auction in the existing golf course there but there have been no takers. The lots are about 43,000 sq ft in size, with a reserve price of RM220,000.

Carey Real Estate (Ampang) director Avtar Singh says the first phase of Bukit Beruntung received good response when launched around 1992 to 1994. Bungalows, with a land area of 6,000 sq ft, were sold at between RM160,000 and RM180,000 then. Recent transactions of similar bungalows were auctioned for about RM200,000 to RM220,000, he says.

Avtar says there are 900 bungalow lots in the Bukit Beruntung Golf & Country Club. "While prices for the bungalow lots vary depending on the location; lots nearer to the golf course are currently transacted at around RM8 to RM9 psf," he says, adding that some were even auctioned for RM6 psf.

Avtar does not see Mines Golf City complementing the existing Bukit Beruntung developments. "I think Mines Golf City will create its own growth, as it might have its own commercial developments. Yes, there may be some activities there, especially during the weekends, but we will see if Bukit Beruntung will boom again," he says.

On a brighter note, hypermarket operator Tesco purchased 25 acres of freehold land in Bukit Beruntung from Talam Corp Bhd in April last year for RM18.59 million. The site, now in the midst of development, is said to be the biggest depot for Tesco in the country.

See says that while there may not be any major short-term impact on the area, investors may take another look at Bukit Beruntung and Bukit Sentosa if Mines Golf City proves to be a success.

http://www.minesgolfcity.com/

2 comments:

  1. Salam...

    saya mona ....ejen hartanah....macam mana saya nk dptkan banglo2 di prima beruntung utk dijual...sebab permintaan dari buyer terlampau banyak...jika ada owner2 banglo yg ingin menjual rumah mereka...sila hubungi saya di 0136771310 atau email ahsuedeen@yahoo.com...

    ReplyDelete
  2. Jika ada banglo or landed hse di bukit sentosa & bukit beruntung ingin dijual boleh hubungi saya...mona 0193785302 or email ke monalizamustafa@gmail.com

    ReplyDelete

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