Lai, flanked by Abang Mahathir and Ting, launching Naim’s latest commercial project, the Permy Street Mall in Permyjaya.
MIRI: The newly-launched Permy Street Mall – the latest commercial development by homegrown property group Naim Holdings Bhd – is set to become another iconic landmark for this city, in line with rapid growth seen in this urban centre of the state’s north.
Miri City Council (MCC) Mayor Lawrence Lai believed that the project would also complement the increasing population here.
“It will give more choice to the locals and at the same time, attract more visitors especially those from Limbang, Lawas as well as the neighbouring Brunei. This, in turn, would raise the local economy and standard of living,” he said after officiating at the launch here yesterday.
Lai said as an established developer, Naim had been playing a major role in this city’s progress over the past 20 years, having built over 16,000 properties on more than 3,000 acres of land here.
According to him, the MCC currently has 57,000 properties, of which 7,000 are commercial and industrial units.
“There are about 50,000 residential properties in Miri, of which Naim commands a third of that figure. The group is indeed are a very important stakeholder,” the mayor said.
Lai assured all that MCC was highly supportive of Tourism Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg’s declaration that there would be no more squatters across the state by 2020.
In this respect, he acknowledged that this city had the highest number of squatters against others across Sarawak, with over 4,000 units recorded last year.
“Due to the rise in economy here, more people from the state’s rural areas as well as other towns have migrated to Miri, which is the primary cause of the rise in the number of squatters here,” Lai stated.
Meanwhile, Naim senior manager for project implementation Abang Mahathir Mohamed said Permy Street Mall is the second stage of the group’s overall planning in creating an integrated commercial development for Permyjaya.
“The population in Miri, particularly in Permyjaya, is getting bigger and bigger. It is necessary for a commercial product like what we are launching today (yesterday) to be undertaken in accommodating this growth. Besides that, we foresee that this (project) would elevate the living standards of people as well as property values here,” he said.
The Permy Street Mall is a three-storey commercial complex, which will be linked with the existing Permy Mall – resulting in a hypermall that has over 100 commercial shoplots and kiosks, as well as ample parking areas.
The launch yesterday was also attended by Naim senior general manager for sales and marketing Alice Ting.