Danga City Mall in JB

Danga City Mall is the reincarnation of a previous closed-down mall in JB.  Its revival was with quite a bit of fanfare as KTM dedicated a train station at the door steps of the mall, and the train service is from Singapore's Tanjong Pagar Railway Station.  With such a 'special' arrangement, I would have expected the business at the mall to be very good, and lots of visitors from neighbouring Singapore.  However, the reality is just the contrary.

What has gone wrong?  The KTM train is really a pain in the neck and nobody would have taken the train at such insane timings.  Go and take a look yourself at the train schedule here.  What do you expect the shoppers to do if they take the 8.45am train from Singapore?  Do you think the shops in the mall will be open this early in the morning?  The train schedule basically kills at least 50% of the business of this mall.

Another issue with the mall is its location.  It is not near any public transport, there is no bus, the only way to get there from the custom is take a cab (around RM6.00).  Nearby the mall, there is nothing anymore.

Nowadays if you visit the mall, it is more or less like walking in a ghost town.  No customers.  The shops are mostly vacant.  I guess they want to model the mall after Singapore's Funan Center to be an IT themed mall, but then obviously it is not successful.

That aside, there is indeed some entertainment in the mall.  They have archery, paint ball, bowling and karaok on the higher floors.

Overall, I guess it is just a matter of time when this mall will close down again.  It is sad, but it is reality.  Moral of the story?  If you wanna invest in commercial property in Malaysia, better do your own due diligence.  Nobody will be responsible if things don't turn out right.