Largest
National Park
in Malaysia

Largest
Satellite Township
in Sabah

Largest
Eco-cyber Township
 in Sabah

Its first shop offices and homes launched in 2004. To date, 193 shop offices and 68 townhouses have been completed and sold. Total estimated sales are RM166.9 million.

The 265-acre Alamesra is located within the new Kota Kinabalu Industrial Development Corridor, along the Sulaman-Coastal Highway.

 Scheduled to be launched within the next one to two years are themed precincts consisting of bungalows (Desa Saujana), semidees, a medium-rise condominium, two hotels, educational institutions, more townhouses and shop offices.

Land in Sabah is leasehold, and Alamesra has a 90-year lease. The project is financed with the company's own cash, sales-generated revenue and bridging finance, and has a gross development value of RM1.1 billion.

 

Alamesra is less than 10 minutes' drive to Kota Kinabalu city centre, the Federal Administrative Centre, Sepangar Deep Sea Port, the new naval base, Kota Kinabalu Industrial Park and the exclusive Karambunai Resorts.

This  modern township is totally different from what is currently available Sabah.

Sabah government is investing heavily to develop the region of Kota Kinabalu. For example, it built the Federal Administrative Centre and also Menara Tun Mustapha (Sabah Foundation) here with a vision is to create a new suburb area.

The level of crime has been a concern especially with the influx of illegal immigrants. Taking that into consideration, Alamesra will only have two entrances with guarded entry points, perimeter fencing, gated homes and security guard patrols. A police station is also located in the shop office area.

Alamesra's offerings
Alamesra is a mixed development. The commercial area is situated in the northern part while the residences are located at the south. Linking both areas is a 12-acre park — the Millennium Park — which is expected to be the biggest private park in Sabah. About RM15 million will be spent on landscaping it.
"The homes will have a wonderful view. Residents will be able to see the park, a river and Mount Kinabalu," says Eddie.

Residential development at Alamesra
Next month, Alamesra plans to do a soft launch of 190 bungalows in Desa Saujana, a gated enclave within Alamesra.
The bungalows are priced from RM1.8 million to RM2.5 million for a built-up of about 4,000 sq ft. Desa Saujana is scheduled to be completed in 2011. "We put up some billboards two weeks ago and buyers have already placed a deposit for 40% of the bungalows. The buyers are mainly from Kota Kinabalu. Our target buyers include Sarawakians, as well as investors from Kuala Lumpur. We also welcome foreign investors," says Eddie.
The bungalows come in eight designs, which is not the norm in Sabah. Developers usually offer two designs at most, Eddie explains. For the subsequent construction of semidees, townhouses and condominium, different architects will be engaged for each product to get different ideas.

No retail anchor tenants have been secured yet for the shop offices, but the developer is counting on banks and telecommunication companies. Although the residential area has not been fully developed to provide for critical traffic, the shops can cater to students from Universiti Malaysia Sabah, where there are about 20,000 students and staff on campus.

About 9.35 acres of Alamesra have also been reserved for a hypermarket and/or Star Gate Auto Park.

Lintasan Mayang plans to introduce a five-star resort hotel and a three-star business hotel in 2009/2010 in Alamesra. The developer is positive about their prospects despite there being four international and regional hotels — Novotel, Mercure Hotel, BW Courtyard Hotel and Tune Hotels.com — in 1Borneo, the biggest shopping mall in Borneo.

Market outlook for Kota Kinabalu
Eddie is optimistic about the property market outlook for Kota Kinabalu. "The market downturn is different from the 1997/1998 crisis. Now people are holding their assets, and adopting a wait-and-see attitude. People are willing to invest in properties. Otherwise, what else are they going to do with their cash?" he asks. "Material costs have risen by about 20% to 30%, and so have property prices. Despite this, Malaysian property is still the cheapest in the region."
On their future projects, Eddie says, they are focusing on Alamesra for now, and to build a good name in Sabah.