New name for Plaza Angsana

The popular shopping centre, Plaza Angsana, is now known as Angsana Johor Baru Mall.

The new name was recently unveiled in a ceremony which also saw a lucky draw and dance performances with celebrity couple Scha Alyahya and Awal Ashaari as the hosts of the programme, which was also held in conjunction with the mall's 15th anniversary.

In a speech by Uda Holdings chairman Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed, which was read by the group managing director Ahmad Abu Bakar, the re-branding effort was to further strengthen the Angsana brand. Nur Jazlan said the company is also simultaneously changing the names of two other malls -- Plaza Ampangan in Seremban and the Greentown Mall in Ipoh which are now known as the Angsana Seremban Mall and the Angsana Ipoh Mall, respectively.

In a press conference held after the ceremony, UDA Angsana Sdn Bhd's acting chief operating officer Mohd Nazri Jamiran said the Angsana Johor Baru Mall has about 65,000 visitors on weekdays and 90,000 on weekends.

"The mall, which is currently undergoing renovation, is expected to see an increase of between 20 and 50 per cent in the number of shoppers when the renovation works are completed. "The renovation on the facade of the building is currently 90 per cent completed. We spent about RM5 million on that, which was under the third phase of the upgrading works.

"We will start the fourth and last phase which include the upgrading of the food court and this will cost another two to three million," Nazri said, adding that they expect the renovation works to be fully completed by the first quarter of next year.

Nazri said they also plan to attract a multi-racial crowd from the mid- to high-income group by getting more well-known brands to come in. Also present was the mall's assistant general manager Hasnizi Pauzi.

Meanwhile, the grand prize of the lucky draw, a Toyota Vios, went to Sia Bee Hoon, 45, of Taman Mount Austin. Sia and her husband Chua Chong Chai, 51, have been operating a retail outlet selling computer software in Angsana for the past 12 years.

"Since I work in Angsana, I also do most of my shopping here. I remember dropping about 10 entry forms into the box on Nov 31, which was the last day for the contest since it was launched in April this year. "I did not think much about it although I had won a television set in a lucky draw more than 10 years ago," said the mother of four. Sia, who does not own a car although she has a driving licence, said she was happy as she now has a vehicle of her own.

-nst online.