Nazri: New landmark set to raise KL’s stature as top tourist spot

New era: Nazri (left) and CRCC’s CEO Zhuang Shangbiao dotting the eyes of ‘dragons’ to mark the new beginning in the journey of the Four Seasons Place at the topping out ceremony in Kuala Lumpur. — Bernama

KUALA LUMPUR: City folk here will soon be enjoying Four Seasons living. But don’t get it wrong. There will be no climatic change here.

The Four Seasons Place Kuala Lumpur, an iconic and swanky soon-to-be landmark, is set to be completed by next month.

Tourism and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz said the presence of the prestigious landmark would further raise the stature of the city as a foremost tourist destination.

“We are happy that Malaysia at last has a Four Seasons hotel and residency.

“I was told that there are only 10 in the world and this is the fourth which is similar to that found in Hong Kong,” he told reporters after witnessing the topping out ceremony of the 77-storey project by China Railway Construction Corporation (CRCC) here yesterday.

Located next to KLCC Twin Towers, the project consists of a 342.5m tower hotel and residency, including a shopping mall with a gross development value of RM3bil.

The tower, the second tallest after the KLCC Twin Towers, will have 240 rooms for the Four Seasons Hotel, 27,871sq m of retail space and 242 residential units.

Nazri said the hotel would be operational by the end of the year while the residency and mall are expected to open by the middle of next year.

The ceremony saw several CRCC workers filing in the last portion of the building on the last floor with concrete to signify the “last topping out” of the project.

He said the project augured well for the Belt and Road Initiative where China’s investment here would help develop the tourism industry while creating jobs and generating revenue for the nation.

Earlier in his speech, Venus Assets Sdn Bhd executive director and shareholder Datuk David Ban said the project marks the completion of CRCC’s first major development project in the country.

“I feel that this project is only a forerunner of CRCC’s commitment to the development of Malaysia.

“Clearly, it will be playing a major role in transforming the skyline of Kuala Lumpur with major iconic projects in the future,” he said.

Also present was CRCC’s chief economist Zhao Jinhua, who said that his company had adopted the Chinese proverb of “through thick or thin” in standing alongside Malaysia.

He said the company managed to hit a record construction rate of building a floor every four days.

Besides the Four Seasons Place, he said CRCC is also involved in over 20 projects in Malaysia amounting to RM5.54bil.

-thestar online.