London: The £957 million Embassy Gardens project here by Eco World International (EWI) has achieved a new milestone with the topping out of the core of Legacy Building 1 by Prime Minister, Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
Embassy Gardens Phase 2 is one of three projects being undertaken by EWI in London in a joint venture with UK-based Ballymore Group. The projects, which started last year, have a combined gross development value (GDV) of £2.5 billion.
The other two projects are London City Island Phase 2 and Wardian London.
In his speech, Najib said projects such as the developments by EWI and the Battersea Power Station contributed to the plan to raise Malaysia to high income nation status in several years.
He also said it showed that Malaysians can be world leaders and world beaters, wherever they are building, working, trading, teaching, or however they are participating in local societies and economies.
“The regeneration of Battersea Power Station by a Malaysian consortium has been a real flag bearer for our country – London will gain a “Malaysia Square” - and I believe that EcoWorld's presence in the capital will reinforce the message that Malaysia believes in London.
“We and the UK have strong and historic ties. We are raising them to new levels of cooperation, and that is good for Britain, and it is good for Malaysians who benefit from the mutual investment. It creates - and has already created - thousands of jobs that support hard-working families in our country," said Najib.
Meanwhile, Eco World Ballymore Holding Co Ltd chairman Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said there is a lot of potential for Malaysian investors in the UK market.
Located at the heart of Nine Elms, which is set to be London’s new diplomatic precinct with the planned relocation of the United States and Dutch embassies here, Embassy Gardens offers a distinctive architectural style with apartments nestled amongst landscaped public squares, a linear park and amenities such as a private club.
The project is expected to deliver 709 private residential units and 163 units of affordable homes across three residential blocks ranging from 23 to 25 storeys. The units will also be complemented by 27,968 sq ft of commercial gross internal area.
The development sits on a total land area about 5.7 acres.
According to EWI president and chief executive officer Datuk Teow Leong Seng, Embassy Gardens has recorded total sales of £120.8 million as at 31 January 2016 following its launch in September last year.
More than 50 per cent of the units were purchased by local British. The rest of the buyers were from Asia, the Middle East and the rest of Europe, he said.