Iconic property developer Grand Merdeka enriches Sabah real estate with new project
First mover in Sabah real estate’s portfolio expands with Bandar Ramai-Ramai, Sandakan’s first street mall
As the first property developer to construct a multilevel office tower with an elevated car park in Sandakan city during the 1970s, Grand Merdeka Development has founded a legacy of ground-breaking projects in Sabah’s local real estate market – a trailblazing reputation it still carries today.
From building Wisma Merdeka, Sabah’s first certified shopping mall, to introducing condominiums to the North Borneo state, Grand Merdeka has three decades of proven industry-leading expertise as a subsidiary of its well-known parent Wisma Merdeka group.
Setting its sights on grander aspirations, Grand Merdeka is building a suburban mixed development project that will house Sabah’s first elevated water park – along with a community mall, a warehouse shopping centre for homeware and residential areas.
“At Grand Merdeka, we offer unique development investments at affordable prices,” says Chew Sang Hai, director. “We always do something different by breaking away from the past and traditional business methods.”
Nobody does what we do. That’s why we’re always ahead of the competition
An example of this is Bandar Ramai-Ramai, Sandakan’s first street mall modelled after Singapore’s interconnected shop houses with residential or office spaces on the second floor and commercial spaces on the ground floor.
Whether it is establishing Bandar Ramai-Ramai, building the first commercial college in Sabah, or creating a buyer and developer supplementary agreement on property management that has since become local industry standard, Grand Merdeka is undeniably a first mover in Sabah
real estate.
“We create a lot of value for investment. Our projects are delivered timely at a very competitive price that allows investors to make good returns,” Chew says. “The Segama Shophouses we built in Kota Kinabalu fetched around US$300,000 in the late 1970s. Today, they are valued at around
US$6 million.”
With major property development projects planned in Sabah, such as the estimated US$1 million redevelopment of Kota Kinabalu Port, Grand Merdeka’s latest developments are in line with Sabah’s ongoing modernisation.
“We’re very locally focused,” Chew says. “Nobody does what we do. That’s why we’re always ahead of the competition.”
