BBCC, Japan's Zepp Hall to build RM100m concert hall

KUALA LUMPUR: BBCC Development Sdn Bhd, developer of Bukit Bintang City Centre, has teamed up with Japan's Zepp Hall Network Inc to build a RM100 million concert hall in Kuala Lumpur.

BBCC chief executive officer Datuk Richard Ong Kek Seng said the 6,500-sq-m concert hall, slated for completion in 2020, would be able to seat about 2,500 people.

"Zepp Hall will operate the concert hall under the "Zepp" brand with a 20-year lease," Ong told reporters after the signing the lease agreement in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

Ong signed for BBCC and Zepp Hall was represented by its president Satoshi Senoo.

The concert hall, to be known as "Zepp Kuala Lumpur", would be the anchor for BBCC's entertainment hub, Ong said.

He said the hall, the first Zepp brand concert hall outside Japan, would also house eight VIP boxes with private lounges and seating areas, the first-of-its-kind operated by Zepp Hall.

"Besides the concert hall, the entertainment hub will also house a multi-hall cineplex, a grand bazaar and a banquet hall," he said.

Zepp Hall, a subsidiary of Sony Entertainment (Japan) Inc, has core business in concert venue operations and currently operates five concert halls across Japan.

Ong said the company has no plans for listing in the near term.

With an RM8.7 billion gross development value, the entire BBCC project, which is to be built on the former Pudu Jail site, would take between eight and 10 years to develop.

The project comprises six blocks of serviced apartments, one retail and entertainment block, a four-star hotel with branded residences, a strata office and an 80-storey signature tower housing a five-star hotel, luxury residences and corporate offices. - Bernama