Naim Holdings Bhd will develop the site of the old Bintulu airport into an integrated upmarket commercial and residential project. The new city centre for the booming industrial town will comprise condominiums, street mall, international class hotel, shopping complex and other related facilities. Corporate services senior director Ricky Kho said the project on about 12ha would have a gross development value (GDV) of RM2bil. Kho said the proposed street mall would feature commercial shophouses and small home offices while the threestar hotel would have about 200 rooms.  He added that phase one development is expected to take five years while phase two will involve construction of the shopping complex. Naim, Sarawak's biggest property developer, is expected to own and operate theshopping complex as a long-term investment.  ' StarBiz

CapitaMalls Malaysia Trusts's (CMMT) unit CMMT MTN Bhd has received the Securities Commission's approval for the issuance of RM3 billion bonds. The medium term note programme (MTN) with a 20-year tenure, may be issued from time to time. Proceeds from the bond issue will be used to refinance existing borrowings and to finance CMMT's investments, capital expenditure, asset enhancement initiatives and working capital. ' Business Times

OM Materials (Sarawak) Sdn Bhd (OM Sarawak) has obtained detailed environmental impact assessment (DEIA) approval for its US$500.0mil joint-venture manganese and ferro alloy smelting plant project in Samalaju Industrial Park, Bintulu. In an announcement to the Australian Stock Exchange, OM Holdings Ltd (OMH) said the approval from the Department of Environment (DOE) represented a major milestone in the commencement of the plant's construction and as a pre-requisite for securing project financing. OM Sarawak is a 80:20 joint venture between OMH and Cahya Mata Sarawak Bhd. OMH said construction of the plant on 202ha would start in the second half this year, more than a year after the commencement of site earthworks. Partial commissioning of the plant is targeted in the first quarter of 2014 and full commercial operation in the second quarter of 2015. - StarBiz

Source: AmeSecurities