Aman Resorts to Open in Malaysia
South Johor Economic Region's Luxury Development on Track
Feb 24, 2007
A target of 50 billion ringgit ($14.29 billion) over the next five years is achievable, says Malaysia's minister in charge of the huge development near Singapore. The fact that luxury Aman Resorts has signed a leisure deal as has a budget hotel linked to Air Asia is a good endorsement for the project in Johor state.
The government knows that in order to compete with economic hubs like Dubai, UAE, Shenzen in China, and Bangladore in India, the zone will have to represent the best Southeast Asia has to offer.
The project has a development area of over two thousand square kilometres and will include business areas, leisure facilities and manufacturing outlets as well as operating as a financial hub providing biofuel processing facilities and some educational institutions.
On the leisure side, two theme parks will be built. The names of the developers of these theme parks are not yet known, but it is not expected to be Universal Studios as they are already contracted to build a park in Singapore.
This will be the first Aman Resort in Malaysia and should be completed by 2009. Aman Resorts apparently fell in love with the mangroves and the leisure industry is intrigued as to how Aman will incorporate these into their design.
Aman is already iwell represented in Indonesia, Thailand, Bhutan and Sri Lanka, and India, and is frequently awarded the prize for the world's leading international hotel group from readers of quality magazines like Conde Naste Traveller and Wanderlust. The Hotel Survey firm of Zagat awarded them the title in 2006.
At the other end of the scale, Tune Hotels, a no-frills chain partly owned by AirAsia, is to open in Danga Bay early next year and intends to sell rooms in a package with AirAsia from March 2008.
