KUALA LUMPUR (July 10): Metrohub 3, the fourth phase of SDPLOG’s E-Metro Logistics Park in Bandar Bukit Raja, Klang, has broken ground, with one of its two blocks holding a provision for dangerous goods storage, following increased electric-vehicle (EV) component demand in the Malaysian market. Its second block will be for general warehousing purposes.

The groundbreaking ceremony was held on Friday for the 177-acre industrial park, the flagship asset of SDPLOG, a joint venture between Sime Darby Property Bhd (KL:SIMEPROP) and ESR Group.

Slated for completion in the third quarter of 2027, Metrohub 3 will add 2.2 million sq ft of warehouse space to the logistics park, comprising Block 1 and Block 2, totalling 840,000 sq ft.

"Metro Hub 3…reflects the rapidly evolving logistics industry that we find ourselves in today…one of [its] defining features is that about 40% of the space that we are building will be configured to cater to dangerous goods with the ability and flexibility to cater to classes of dangerous goods from Class 2 to Class 9," said ESR Management Malaysia Sdn Bhd head of Malaysia and SDPLOG co-general manager David Aboud.

"It's specifically a strategy designed to cater to what we see as increased demand from EV lithium batteries and from products that are increasingly coming into Malaysia to support the growing manufacturing base Malaysia has," he added.

The groundbreaking was held alongside the official opening of Metrohub 4, the third phase of the logistics park, at a launch ceremony attended by Klang deputy mayor Mohd Zary Affendi Mohd Arif. Mixue Malaysia is the first pre-committed customer, taking up 13.4% of Metrohub 4.

Completed ahead of schedule, Metrohub 4 spans 1,380,000 sq ft and is the largest multi-tenanted ready built warehouse in the Metrohub portfolio and will house Mixue's regional distribution centre.

The industrial park’s initial phases, Metrohub 1 and 2, have been fully occupied with J&T Express, YCH Group and Next Logistics in Metrohub 1, and Jingdong and Sinotrans in Metrohub 2. Upon completion of both Metrohub 3, the portfolio size within the E-Metro Logistics Park will exceed 4.2 million sq ft of modern warehouse space, as mentioned in a press statement released on Friday.

"Today, Sime Darby Property has approximately 2.5 million sq m of warehouse space in Bandar Bukit Raja alone, which forms a significant portion of our total assets under management of RM4.4 billion," said Sime Darby Property managing director Datuk Mohd Sohimin Mohd Alayedin.

In his opening speech, Mohd Sohimin also mentioned that plans for stages three and four of the Bandar Bukit Raja master plan are also progressing.