Emaar chairman heads up Dh4.5bn Malaysian resort project

Tradewinds Corporation is to embark on an themed adventure parks tourism drive.

A Dh4.5 billion luxury resort in Malaysia to be developed by a Tradewinds Corporation, chaired by the Emaar Properties chairman Mohamed Alabbar, hopes to attract tourists from the Middle East with butterfly, forest and water-themed adventure parks.

Tradewinds unveiled the groundbreaking of the Burau Langkawi resort, part of the fist phase of the Perdana Quay project yesterday, Langkawi’s first integrated leisure, retail, residential and commercial project, a statement from the company said.

Tradewinds is a leisure and hospitality owner-operator chaired by Mr Alabbar and backed by The Albukhary Group headed by Malaysian billionaire Syed Mokhtar Albukhary.

The Perdana Quay project will take 10 years to complete and will include six construction phases covering more than 240 acres of land at Pantai Kok-Teluk Burau on the north-west of the island.

Phase one and two will include ecological and nature-oriented attractions. The Burau Langkawi resort will feature 245 rooms, 60 luxury villas and 26 “ultra-luxury” villas and is scheduled be completed by the end of 2017.

Phase three will include retail outlets, hotel and convention facilities aimed at Malaysia’s traditional tourist markets – China, the Middle East and the UK.

Later phases will include a marina, waterfront, foothills and lakeside-serviced residences as well as a spa and wellness centre.

“Perdana Quay will energise the economy of Langkawi by creating a world-class leisure and lifestyle destination. It will be a magnet for tourists, as well as for investors seeking high-end residences … [it] will bring world-class design and construction competencies to Perdana Quay, which will create new jobs, support local industries and strengthen the tourism sector,” Mr Alabbar said.

Mr Alabbar is also chairman of Singapore’s Royal Sporting House and Africa Middle East Resources, and sits on the board of the Noor Investment Group.

Separately yesterday, media reported that Emaar’s Egyptian unit is weighing financing options for billions of dirhams of planned projects in the country including a possible IPO next year.

“The problem is that we are becoming financers of our units. It is not only slowing my progress, it is also bringing me into the business of others. I am not in the business of finance. I am in the business of development,” an unnamed Emaar Misr executive told Zawya. “This [IPO] is very serious. We are working with several investment banks.”

Last month, Mr Alabbar announced Emaar would spin off its malls business in an IPO, most likely in both London and Dubai, raising up to Dh8 billion.

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