KUALA LUMPUR: Tradewinds Corp Bhd (TCB), which plans to demolish the Crowne Plaza Mutiara Hotel and Kompleks Antarabangsa, to make way for a "multi-billion-ringgit" mixed commercial development, is in talks with several local and foreign parties to help finance the project- Chairman Tan Sri Megat Najmuddin Megat Khas said it is looking for joint venture partners to develop the project- "We are talking to property developers and funds both local and foreign," he told Business Times- He hopes TCB will hold a majority stake in the joint venture that will develop the property- TCB plans to bring down the hotel and the office building located on Jalan Sultan Ismail to make way for a "multi-billion-ringgit" mixed commercial development- The buildings sit on a 2-43ha plot-In preparation for this eventuality which could take over another year, in April 2010, TCB's 85-1 per cent unit, Tradewinds Hotels & Resorts Sdn Bhd, entered into an agreement to sell Crowne Plaza to Symbolic Supreme Sdn Bhd for RM384 million- Tradewinds owns 100 per cent of Symbolic Supreme- The transfer is to facilitate future development- TCB has obtained the development order to go ahead and come out with detailed plans for development based on the allowed plot ratio- It is looking at the possibility of building an office, retail and residence component on the land to provide the group with recurring income stream- Megat Najmuddin said the building will be "something soaring" and would cost billions of ringgit- Crowne Plaza is a 38-year-old building of 35-storeys and 565 rooms- It first opened as the Kuala Lumpur Hilton- It is now managed by the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) which may still have eight years remaining under the management contract- Prior to IHG's management, Tradewinds managed the hotel on its own for a short period under the name Mutiara KL- Kompleks Antarabangsa, meanwhile, is a 30-year-old building with 21 storeys of car parks- The net book value of the office is RM159-83 million, as at December 2009- The building together with land may be worth an estimated RM1-5 billion, based on recent land deals- ...
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