WSG wins award for township development
Published on: Thursday, September 22, 2022
By: Hayati Dzulkifli
Susan (third right) holding the award’s trophy high after receiving the Best Developer for Township Development award from Masidi (fourth right) while Shareda President Datuk Chua Soon Ping (fifth right) and others look on.
Kota Kinabalu: An important decision to buy 100 acres in Benoni, Papar, 11 years ago has paid off for a reputable developer WSG Group Managing Director Datuk Susan Wong Siew Guen when she received the “Best Developer for Township Development” by Sabah Housing and Real Estate Developers Association (Shareda) Nite, here.The prestigious award for latest development Benoni Commercial Centre and Parklane City projects in Papar was presented by State Local Government and Housing Minister cum Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, who represented Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor at the event.
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She dedicated the award as a special tribute to her mother Datin Seri Chen Si Mui who was from Papar and had many memories when she was a child in the district.
“I am very happy and delighted to receive this very meaningful award as my hard work and efforts about a decade ago made me realise that I had made a right decision to buy the 100 acres.
“Eleven years ago, these 100 acres were empty except for swamps and trees.
“However, I noticed that the location of the land is very strategic and being adjacent to Pan Borneo Highway which I saw having huge potential in the long run.
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“It is also very near to Papar town, about only five kilometres away and 40km from Kota Kinabalu city centre,” said Susan, who is also Shareda’s advisor.
Susan served Shareda as president for four years from 2009 to 2012.
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Aiming to make Benoni a vibrant new township, she said such investment on the Benoni land was worth it although she would need about 10 years to complete the aspiration.
Since Susan founded the WSG Group in 2006, she dedicated her first effort to undertaking new developments in the outskirts, beginning from River Park, Rose Garden, The Palm Condominium and Palm Square in Kinarut.
“Hence, the projects have transformed the sleepy town of Kinarut into a thriving residential and commercial areas, which in turn, stimulated the socio-economic development in the area.
“But with Benoni, I bought a whole 100 acres and I had a better planning with a very good, nice and modern design,” she said.
Sited along the Beaufort-Kota Kinabalu route, Susan said the Benoni new township is the perfect pit stop for travellers heading to the state capital from Tenom, Keningau, Sipitang, Lawas, Sarawak and Brunei.
“Furthermore, developing projects in Papar area means a lot to me because Papar is my mother’s hometown. We have many happy childhood memories during the time spent in our grandmother’s house in Kg Langsat, Papar.
“It happened that one of the land owners Kapitan Chen Chee On, was my mother’s saviour during World War II when she was only 12.
“Because of these coincidences, I told myself I must make this 100 acres of land a vibrant new township,” she said.
Also in the pipeline, she said are two shopping malls, two hotels, a petrol station, furniture showroom, a college and a banking service centre.
Besides the retail and commercial units in Benoni Coomercial Centre and the Parklane City, the company also provides more than 1,000 affordable homes consisting of 234 units of Benoni Garden apartments, 180 units of two-storey terrace houses at Parklane Villa and 656 units of Parklane Lifestyle Condominium.
“As a property developer, my dream is to build affordable homes and create a liveable environment where people feel comfortable and safe with their families,” she said.
On top of that, Susan believes in growing with the communities.
“Wherever our projects are, we do our best to contribute back to the local communities by supporting the local schools and other bodies.”
She expressed gratitude to Head of State Tun Dr Juhar Mahiruddin for his great support to Parklane City and the Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Haji Noor for creating a friendly business environment.
She also thanked the buyers for their support toward WSG Group’s projects and two banks – Maybank and Sabah Development Bank for providing the bridging financing for the company to complete the Benoni Commercial Centre project, and Parklane City development, respectively.
Both Hajiji and Masidi praised the WSG Group for bringing economic growth and business opportunities to the township.
They also invited the company to implement new projects in other districts such as Hajiji’s hometown in Tuaran and Masidi’s Ranau.
While touring WSG Group’s booth during Shareda PropEX 2022, recently, Masidi noted that few developers in Sabah are brave enough to build new townships that integrate residential and commercial properties, and WSG Group is one of them.
Tower B of The Palm Condominium that has recently obtained occupancy certificate (OC) is selling fast, especially among civil servants and professionals.
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