Mydin spreading its wings to Sarawak

By Desmond Davidson bt@nst.com.my 2013/01/15 MYDIN Mohamed Holdings Bhd, which recorded a turnover of RM2.1 billion last year, targets RM2.5 billion this year, and is investing RM150 million to open three hypermarkets here. The hypermarkets are at Vista Tunku and Bandar Baru Samariang in Petra Jaya and at the Isthmus in the Demak Laut industrial area. Construction of the hypermarkets has begun with the market in Vista Tunku, designated a "mothership" by Mydin's managing director Da-tuk Ameer Ali Mydin, targeted for completion in the middle of next year. The other two are to be completed in 2015. The state's largest conglomerate, Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd (CMSB) invited Mydin to open two of the hypermarkets - at Bandar Baru Samariang and the Isthmus. Ameer told journalists after signing two agreements - a lease agreement and heads of agreement with Projek Bandar Samariang Sdn Bhd and CMS Land Sdn Bhd respectively yesterday - said the openings are long-term projects. Projek Bandar Samariang is a wholly owned subsidiary of CMSB while CMS Land is a joint-venture company between CMSB and the Sarawak Economic Development Corp (SEDC). Ameer also said Mydin is also "seriously" looking into opening similar hypermarkets in the major towns of Sibu, Bintulu and Miri. "There is a lot of potential there (the towns)," he said after the signing ceremony that was witnessed by State Urban Development Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg. Datuk Richard Curtis, group managing director of CMSB, said bringing in Mydin was a "win-win situation for everybody". "We hoped to help them expand in other parts of the state," he added. "In attracting Mydin to Isthmus and Bandar Samariang, we had to meet some tough criteria, such as land availability for the development, community population size and that we had to have a clear vision of development for these two areas." The rapidly growing integrated township of Bandar Samariang is now home to over 25,000 people. That, Curtis said, "more than meets the community size development requirements".

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The Bandar Samariang hypermarket would be sited on a prime 3ha site at the Bandar Samariang commercial centre. The single-storey development would have a total floor area of 10,777 sq m - about 4,000 sq m for the hypermarket, 1,514 sq m of mall space and 603.87 sq m for the food court. The hypermarket at the Isthmus is larger - a two-storey building with a total floor space area of 28,568 sq m. The hypermarket takes up 5,862 sq m.

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