WCT to build 2 new shopping malls

In line with WCT Holdings’ plan to branch out into shopping centres, it property arm WCT Land plans to develop two new shopping malls under the Paradigm brand in Johor Bahru and Kuala Lumpur.

These upcoming malls are Paradigm Johor Bahru along Jalan Skudai and Paradigm Kuala Lumpur in Old Klang Road.

The former is already under construction and is expected to be unveiled in 2016. It also has a net leasable area of 1.3 million sq ft, while that latter has a larger area of 1.5 million sq ft.

With an expected development cost of RM700 million, Paradigm Kuala Lumpur would also include a hotel, offices, residential towers and maybe an auditorium.

Although the plans for both projects are still being finalised, WCT Malls Management’s General Manager Vincent Chong told reporters that the offerings of both developments would be able to compete with other shopping malls.

This is in light of other upcoming rivals, such as IOI City Mall in Putrajaya, Sunway Velocity Mall in Cheras, Sunway Putra Mall in Kuala Lumpur and Pavilion Holdings Group’s 2 million sq ft shopping centre at the capital.

To keep up with the competition, WCT has been actively advertising its future malls and has been conducting promotional activities. For example, it has teamed up with Astro, Fox and Dreamworks to bring in celebrities for meet-and-greet sessions. It has also organized K-pop events

However, he admitted that shopper traffic at Paradigm Petaling Jaya has failed to pick up since January. The rental rate at the 680,000 sq ft mall stands ranges from RM7 psf to RM8 psf.

“We must be realistic. For now, our focus is just to sustain business for our tenants. As such, we haven’t targeted growth for this mall this year,” noted Chong.

Nevertheless, WCT is set to launch the mall’s office tower and hotel component, which will be under the management of New World Millennium Hong Kong Hotel. Furthermore, seven storeys of office space at Paradigm Mall Petaling Jaya are expected to be completed by June.