The F1 circuit will no longer be Sepang’s claim to fame when its RM3 billion Sepang GoldCoast is completed in mid 2009.

The joint-venture between Sepang Bay Sdn Bhd and Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd will cover 1,850ha of sea and shore estates in front of the Straits of Malacca and 17km around a mangrove river.

The development will feature a retail component, dry market, restaurants, retirement village, hotel and theme park.

Work on the golden project has already begun with all the piling works to be completed by year’s end and the show units in June or July next year, which consists of the development’s first phase.

It will form the foundation of 366 units of sea villas designed to resemble the shape of a palm tree, to be called Golden Palm Villas costing RM180 million.

Although the concept for the villas is not new, it is definitely a first in the region. A development in United Arab Emirates called The Palms features the same concept, however, what its predecessor in Malaysia rivals in is price.

Sepang GoldCoast chairman Yanki Regan said, “If you buy a Palms unit in Dubai, you would be paying much more. Our prices start from only RM465,600.”