Second F1 racetrack on the cards in Johor
JOHOR - MALAYSIA might get a second Formula One (F1) racetrack, TV3 reported yesterday, adding one in Johor to the existing track in Sepang.
If everything goes according to plan, Danga Bay in the Southern Johor Economic Region (SJER) may get the track by next year.
The plan was announced to the media yesterday by senior officers from the Johor State Economic Planning Unit and the government investment arm, Khazanah Nasional, TV3 reported.
Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is scheduled to unveil the SJER masterplan tomorrow (November 4). SJER covers more than 2,000 sq km and is divided into five main zones.
Danga Bay, a RM15 billion (S$6.5 billion) waterfront development in the zone, is being developed under a 15-year project.
According to the project's management authorities, F1 is keen to join the development.
'We have officials visiting us from F1 and when they saw our place, they were quite excited because it's very unique, in the way that our roads are well-connected. It forms a loop and it is all facing the waterfront,' Danga Bay project manager Christopher Yeo said.
Malaysia's existing F1 racetrack in Selangor, the Sepang International Circuit, was officially opened on March 9, 1999, and has since become one of the country's top tourist draws.
Early negotiations for the second track are under way, said officials at yesterday's briefing, and the race may be held on public roads, just like in Monaco.
It would need, among others, a 3.5km track with all the safety features of the sport.
-- Source: Singapore Press --
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