MEDA Inc Bhd expects sales value of RM404mil from Kota Malim Prima, a new township currently being developed on 424 acres in Tanjung Malim.

The project, to be completed in 2011, would comprise 3,359 residential, commercial and industrial units, Meda Development Sdn Bhd director (sales and marketing) Tan Beng Hwa told StarBiz.

According to Tan, residential units in the township will make a good investment.

Those who invested in the single and double-storey linked houses could expect a return of at least 8% per year in terms of rental, he said.

Situated adjacent to the Universiti Pen- didikan Sultan Idris (UPSI), the new township will cater to some 25,000 students of the university, as well as some 7,000 workers of Proton City nearby.

Tan said that phases 1b1, 1b2 and 2A had already been completed and sold out, and that had brought in RM51mil in sales to the developer within a short period of five months.

''The project is simply the goldmine of southern Perak and currently we are not really able to meet the high demand for houses in Tanjung Malim due to the demand from UPSI students and Proton City workers,'' he said.

Tan said that at present, single and double-storey linked houses in the area were being rented out for as high as RM650 to RM800 per unit, thus making it more lucrative than many areas in the Klang Valley.

In addition, Meda is developing 232 units of dormitories costing RM46,000 per unit suitable for students of the nearby university.

Proton City is 70% completed and when fully ready it will produce some 250,000 units of Proton cars per year.

Hence, the demand for workers’ houses would shoot up within one or two years' time, said Tan.

The company has opened bookings for its phase 2B of 254 units of single and double-storey link houses.

The double-storey houses will be sold at RM118,000 per unit while the single-storey will be up for sale at RM88,800 each.

The terrace houses are built on leasehold land valid for 99 years and the site is about a one-hour drive from the Klang Valley.

''It makes good investment for those who buy the property and resell them within five years. They would make a profit margin of at least 30%,'' Tan said.

The developer also offers 150 bungalows for sale in addition to the 140 semi-detached houses with the size of 50ft by 90ft.

In view of the glut of property in the Klang Valley, it makes sense to invest far away from Kuala Lumpur where there is real demand for houses, according to Tan.

Thus, he added that Meda had a land bank situated as far away as Malacca and Perak, slated for development.

Source : The Star 26/5/2003