As cities expand outwards, it seems almost inevitable that verdant greenery would need to make way for concrete. It is an undeniable side effect of modernisation.

However, for Sunway Group’s development in Ipoh, its strategy is to do the exact opposite. More than 20 years ago, Sunway was invited by the Perak State Government to develop Sunway City Ipoh (SCI) as an integrated township development, emulating that of Bandar Sunway. 

“However, the emphasis in SCI is on conservation and preservation of nature,” explained Sunway City Ipoh Senior General Manager Wong Wan Wooi in a recent interview.

“The area is endowed with a 260 million year old limestone formation dotted with beautiful caves, lakes and even natural hotsprings,” Wong added.

Currently 70% of the 1,350 acre development has been completed, while the remainder will keep the group occupied for another 15 to 20 years, according to Wong.

“Eventually we would also like to do a hilltop development, something like The Peak in Hong Kong,” he said.

Wong explained that Sunway has spent at least RM700 million on the development to date, and with all the new components in the pipeline, the group expects the figure to touch RM5 billion when fully completed.

“One of the components, namely serviced apartments, will utilise one of our most unique selling points, namely the hotspring. We are going to offer the hotspring as part of the facilities.

We will also have the Lost World Mall, an outlet mall concept, as well as a medical centre and assisted living, which is a trend now because of the aging population,” he said. According to statistics from the United Nations, the number of people aged 60 years or over is expected to double by 2050 and more than triple by 2100.

Its Sunway Onsen Suites opened for registration in November last year with the development due for launch in the first quarter of 2019. The residences are housed within a three-tower block with a dedicated entrance for residences, and a grand lobby with a green natural streetscape.

When asked as to who is SCI’s target market, Wong said that currently 95% of its residents are Malaysians with the rest being foreigners.

“For the residential segment, we have recorded an increasing number of interstate purchasers from Klang Valley and Penang, as well as increased interest from China, Hong Kong and Singapore.

We will constantly refresh our offerings to keep up with current and future demands. For example, we have just completed an additional 20 villas in The Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat. We also just added a new attraction, namely the Luminous Forest, a night-time adventure located in the Lost World of Tambun. Furthermore, there will be new attractions coming this year - the Sky Bar at the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat and Rain Fortress at Lost World of Tambun which are slated for completion in January and May 2019 respectively” he said.

Wong added that the group is also expecting more foreigners coming to Ipoh following articles published by Lonely Planet and New York Times, among others. Also helping connectivity is the increasing number of flights from Ipoh to other countries.

In its article titled “Why Ipoh, Malaysia, Should Be on Your Travel Radar”, the New York Times wrote that Ipoh is set to be the country’s hippest destination, thanks in part to Sunway’s founder Tan Sri Dr Jeffrey Cheah, the Lost World of Tambun, Lithuanian artist Ernest Zacharevic beautifying old buildings with a series of murals, and a boom in hip cafes.

Conceived in 1995, the SCI of today is a far cry from its humble roots as a former mining land. Over the last 23 years, Sunway Group has built more than 1,400 units of property in the location, as well as two resorts, namely the Banjaran Hotsprings Retreat and The Lost World of Tambun.

It was also a homecoming of sorts for Tan Sri Dr Jeffery Cheah, who is from the state having grown up in a small town called Pusing.

“Through this development we have brought 1.5 million visitors to Ipoh, and SCI has won a long string of international and national awards,” said Wong.

SCI has won five FIABCI awards, namely two FIABCI Prix d’Excellence (International) awards clinched by Banjaran Hotsprings and Lost World of Tambun in 2012 and 2015 respectively, and another three FIABCI Malaysia Property Awards, which included the honour of Best Master Plan township in 2010.

Throughout the 20-year development process, Wong pointed out that SCI has brought some sweeping changes in the quality of life for its residents, community in the vicinity and stakeholders.

“SCI has continuously improved the infrastructure within and around the township, created employment opportunities through its own hospitality, retail, leisure and education businesses as well as recreational activities, spurred by the social and economic wellbeing of Tambun and the surroundings of the Eastern Development Corridor,” he said.

Wong added that as a stakeholder, the group has also been actively promoting Ipoh domestically and internationally, through some unconventional methods.

“We hosted two world class chefs, David Rocco and Nicholas Tse, for the filming of their ‘Celebrity Chef: East vs West’ culinary battle, which was aired on Fox Asia LIFE,” he said.