E-Metro Logistics Park will have 8 million square feet of gross lettable area upon completion
Industrial specialist Logos and Sime Darby Property have secured a deal with a regional express delivery provider to lease more than a fifth of the space in the pair’s maiden project in Malaysia.
J&T Distribution Solution, which operates in Southeast Asia and China, will be the first tenant for the joint venture’s Metrohub 2 facility at E-Metro Logistics Park near Kuala Lumpur, after the Indonesia-based firm signed an agreement to occupy 21 percent of the facility, with an option to expand by an additional 23 percent, Logos said Monday in a release.
Metrohub 2, set to be completed in the fourth quarter of this year, will offer 800,000 square feet (74,322 square metres) of gross lettable area at the 177 acre (71.6 hectare) logistics park in Bandar Bukit Raja township of Klang, Selangor. The park is the first development under the SDPLOG joint venture’s Industrial Development Fund, which aims to raise up to $250 million.
“There is currently strong demand for modern logistics facilities particularly in good locations such as Bandar Bukit Raja,” said David Aboud, head of Malaysia at Sydney-based Logos, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-listed ESR. “In particular the demand is focused on well specified warehouses and sustainability credentials.”
Connectivity Key
Roy Zeng, CEO of J&T Express Malaysia and a director of J&T Distribution Solution, said the group chose E-Metro Logistics Park because of the project’s strategic location and connectivity to highways, seaports and airports.
David Aboud, Logos head of Malaysia
“The facility is also designed so that we can optimise our operations,” Zeng said. “Having worked with Logos in our previous facility, we are confident in our decision.”
With the park’s Metrohub 1 and 2 designed to provide a respective 1.1 million and 800,000 square feet of GLA, Aboud said the JV has fielded enquiries for more than 4 million square feet of logistics space from parties for placement before the end of 2024. The freehold development envisions 8 million square feet of GLA upon completion.
“We welcome this commitment by J&T and look forward to more tenants pre-committing to our facilities,” Aboud said.
Built to Suit in Selangor
In 2021, Logos teamed up with the property unit of Kuala Lumpur-based conglomerate Sime Darby on a fund management platform for developing and investing in “build-to-suit to lease or sell” logistics assets.
The 51:49 JV of Sime Darby Property and Logos signed up as co-investors two of Malaysia’s biggest financial institutions — state-backed investment manager PNB and pension fund KWAP — to anchor the development vehicle.
The partners broke ground on E-Metro Logistics Park last July, with the site accessible via key highways such as New Klang Valley Expressway, Federal Highway, New North Klang Straits Bypass and West Coast Expressway, connecting the park to hubs like Port Klang and Kuala Lumpur’s international airports.
The park will include built-to-specification and ready-built solutions according to clients’ commercial needs and aims to meet the Gold LEED sustainability standard in line with the JV’s commitment for all its developments.
Logos has $23 billion in assets under management across 181 managed industrial estates and 11.3 million square metres of GLA.
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