Three phases of stalled Palm Springs Resort to be launched this year

15/02/2008 The Star By Loong Tse Min

KUALA LUMPUR: Resorts operator and property developer Tanco Holdings Bhd will, for the first time in 10 years, be launching this year three phases of a previously stalled major project, Palm Springs Resort, in Port Dickson.

The company had been launching several small phases of its Bandar Country Homes development in Rawang in the past few years, but these had been slow, business development director Andrew Tan told StarBiz.

For Palm Springs Resort which comprises 15 phases, Tanco aims to launch Duta Grande comprising 800 units of 410 to 830 sq ft resort suites with a gross development value (GDV) of about RM260mil ; SPA Village with 70 chalets ranging from 1,200 to 1,400 sq ft worth RM70mil in GDV; and Palm Springs Boulevard consisting of 24 shop lots with built-up areas of 1,200 sq ft with a GDV of RM15mil.

The company, which came out of PN17 classification on Jan 17 after debt restructuring and the emergence of a new lead banker in Lehman Brothers Commercial Corp Ltd, also plans for more launches at its Rawang development.

Andrew said the Rawang development was mature, with about 10,000 homes and 45,000 residents.

The company plans to launch in Rawang phase 2 of its Greenwood Park district consisting of 155 terrace houses of about 1,700 sq ft priced from RM240,000. The total GDV for this phase is RM70mil.

It will also launch Ivory Heights, comprising 52 bungalows with built-up areas of 3,200 sq ft, with prices starting from RM600,000.

In the company’s debt restructuring, Lehman provided a two-year loan facility of about RM239.6mil in November last year to repay Tanco’s existing debt obligations, to mainly local banks.

Tanco director Datuk Lynne Tan said with only one lender now, the company would be able “to work on our assets” and re-launch its projects as well as the timeshare sales that it had been so successful with in the past.

Tanco was also looking to build up its landbank, she added.

Lynne said the focus in the near term would be on Palm Springs Resort, with another 400 acres of undeveloped prime seafront land with condominiums, a hotel, a waterpark and marina in the works.

Tanco would be banking on selling most of these projects en bloc to foreign investors, Andrew said.

He said as many international portfolio funds were mandated to invest in the Klang Valley or in resorts, given that property prices in the Golden Triangle had doubled in the past 12 months, the country’s resorts could attract such funds.