Thakral acquires 4.5 hectares of land in New South Wales for resort

MAINBOARD-LISTED Thakral Corporation has acquired 4.5 hectares of prime land in Australia's New South Wales through its GemLife joint venture. The land will be developed into a lifestyle resort for over-50s, expanding GemLife's portfolio to eight resorts.

GemLife has committed about A$6 million (S$5.23 million) to the resort, named GemLife Tweed Waters, which will comprise 97 homes upon completion. This will bring the total number of residences in the pipeline in the company's portfolio to over 1,900.

Thakral's group chief executive and executive director, Inderbethal Singh Thakral, said: "This is another strategic acquisition for our investment division, which will strengthen our presence in the high-growth retirement-resorts industry, and grow our portfolio of key gateway sites in Australia."

Civil works and construction are expected to commence in Q4 2020, with the first homes ready to move into by Q3 2021.

GemLife's chief executive and director, Adrian Puljich, said GemLife Tweed Waters is expected to be one of GemLife's fastest-selling resorts.

"The resort design will take advantage of natural features of the coastal location to capitalise on activities such as fishing, boating and water sports, creating a very special and exclusive enclave for residents," he added.

Shares in Thakral last traded at 43.5 Singapore cents on Friday.