UCSI buys land at The Isthmus for Training Hotel

Thursday, 19 May 2011, Kuching – Leading private education entity, UCSI Group, is acquiring land at The Isthmus in Kuching to develop a training hotel and an academic precinct comprising a college campus and residential accommodation for 5,000 students.

The first step in UCSI’s entry to The Isthmus, a new business district in Kuching, was signing of the Sale and Purchase Agreement this evening between CMS Land and UCSI Group for the acquisition of 2.8 acres of river-frontage land opposite the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching. This will be utilized by the university’s school of hospitality for the training of students as well as to operate a 3-4 star business hotel. Acquisition of a further 22.5 acres for the academic precinct of campus blocks and student housing will follow.

Signing for CMS Land were its directors Dato’ Richard Curtis and Datu Dr Haji Sulaiman Husaini. Signing for UCSI Group were its Chairman Dato’ Peter Ng and Vice President of Industry and Strategic Projects, Associate Professor Dr Wong Kong Yew. The signing of SPA was witnessed by SEDC Sarawak Chairman and Assistant Minister of Tourism and Heritage, Sarawak, Datuk Haji Talib Zulpilip.

The Isthmus is owned by CMS Land, a joint venture between Cahya Mata Sarawak subsidiary CMS Property Development and SEDC Sarawak. Intended to be Kuching’s new central business district (CBD), The Isthmus covers an area of 275 acres. Current developments at The Isthmus are the 5,000-person capacity Borneo Convention Centre Kuching and a marina. Construction of Sarawak’s first energy efficient building for Sarawak Energy Berhad is nearly complete, along with a second bridge link to Kuching city centre. A commercial centre, a lifestyle food & beverage hub and two corporate office towers are planned for The Isthmus in the near future.

UCSI University is a leading institution of higher learning with campuses in Kuala Lumpur, Terengganu and Sarawak, Malaysia. Its faculties, equipped with state-of-the-art facilities to meet student needs, offer a wide spectrum of academic programmes ranging from Medicine, Pharmacy, Engineering and Nursing to Music, Multimedia, Education, Liberal Arts and Architecture.