Ekovest unit set to revive JB mall

BY ZAZALI MUSA IN JOHOR BARU

MFI Equity Sdn Bhd will invest some RM30mil to revitalise Plaza Best World shopping complex, which has not been in operation for more than six years. 

Limbongan Ekovest Management Sdn Bhd (LEM), which is 49%-owned by Ekovest Bhd, would be the project manager for the exercise, said LEM chief executive officer Datuk Lim Kang Hoo, who is also Ekovest executive vice-chairman.  

He said the investment would involve the upgrading and improvement of the road system leading to the complex and a facelift for the building. 

Lim said additional car parking lots at both ends of the building, landscaped pedestrian walkways and al fresco dining would be part of the new features added under the exercise. 

“The complex is expected to re-open for business in mid-2005 and we are looking at between 80% and 85% occupancy rate,” he said at the launch of the complex’s revitalisation programme by Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman yesterday. 

According to Lim, MFI Equity was the vehicle used to purchase the complex for RM50mil from Pengurusan Danaharta Nasional Bhd.  

From left: Equity director Kamarul Ariffin Sulaiman, Datik Lim Kang Hoo and Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman touring the Plaza Best World.

He said more than 85% of the retail lot owners had given their consent to LEM to manage their lots and he hoped the remaining owners would follow suit. 

The nine-storey Plaza Best World in Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, Johor Baru, was opened in mid-1996 at a cost of RM240mil but closed two years later following the Asian financial crisis. 

“Accessibility to the complex was one of the major factors that led to the closure of the complex,” he added. 

Lim said approval had been obtained from the authorities for the creation of additional lanes and a slip road to the inner ring road from Jalan Tun Abdul Razak. 

He said a new dedicated U-turn and a new access would further facilitate accessibility to the complex from all directions. 

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