Themed Attractions and Resorts (TAR), a wholly owned unit of state investment agency Khazanah Nasional, was set up in June to develop and operate theme parks and resorts in Malaysia. TAR on Saturday announced that popular characters Hello Kitty, Barney the Purple Dinosaur, Bob the Builder and their friends will be setting up home in an indoor theme park in Nusajaya, Iskandar.

The Family Indoor Theme Park will be housed in a RM350mil complex. Construction of the complex would start mid-2010 and is expected to be completed at the end-2012. This is in addition to the RM750 million (S$307 million) Legoland outdoor theme park on a 51ha land area in Nusajaya announced last year.

Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman said Legoland Malaysia in Medini and the Family Indoor Theme Park in Puteri Harbour were more for children below 12 years of age. In contrast, Universal Studios which is part of the integrated resort development on Sentosa Island catered more for young adults. Johor is not competing with Singapore in attracting visitors to the two soon-to-be-built theme parks in Iskandar Malaysia.

That was what he said.

We, at JB Cool, think otherwise. With the development of Iskandar Malaysia, it is about time Johor Bahru compete with Singapore in all areas including theme parks. The Nusajaya township, which is a core development in Iskandar Malaysia, is only a 10-minute drive from Johor’s immigration checkpoint at the Second Link. With the exchange rate lower here, tourists have more spending power compares to Singapore.

p/s
Of course this mus be supported with good management and marketing

Tags: barney, Iskandar, Legoland, theme park, universal studios