BBCC Development To Start Mall Operations By Early 2021

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Mitsui Shopping Park Lalaport, the joint venture (JV)project between Malaysian BBCC Development Bhd and Japan-based Mitsui Fudosan (Asia) Pte Ltd, is expected to start operations at the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC) by end-2020 or early 2021. Chief Executive Officer Richard Ong said work on the US$379.06 million (RM1.6 billion) retail mall will start in January 2017 and take four and half years to complete. (US$1=RM4.22) He added, the mall with a built up area of 1.4 million sq ft would be a hybrid, combining an indoor shopping mall and an outdoor lifestyle street featuring high-end brands, restaurants and cafes. "The mall will have 350 stores. Mitsui Asia will bring a very unique concept, and with it, the aspiration of having something different in terms of of design service quality, maintenance and uniqueness. "We will bring a lot of new brands from Japan, the Far East and other international labels," he told reporters after the signing of definitive agreements with Mitsui Fudosan Asia here Thursday. Also present were UDA Holdings Bhd Chairman Dr Mohd Shafei Abdullah, Eco World Development Group Bhd Chairman Liew Kee Sin and Mitsui Fudosan Asia Deputy Managing Director and Chief Regional Officer to Malaysia, Takehito Fukui. The agreements involve the establishment, ownership, management and operation of a JV company that will own and operate the estimated RM1.6 billion mall. Mitsui Fudosan Asia will own 50 per cent of shares in the JV and the rest by shareholders of BBCC Development, namely UDA Holdings, Eco World and the Employees Provident Fund. Ong said three tunnels from Changkat Thambi Dollah, Jalan Galloway and Jalan Hang Tuah will be built to connect roads to the underground parking featuring over 2,400 carparks. Mitsui Fudosan is the largest Japanese real estate conglomerate involved in development, including housing properties and shopping centres. It currently manages over 100 properties in Japan and abroad. -- BERNAMA