1Borneo in Kota Kinabalu is racing towards completion with the latest news being that the big opening will now take place on 31 May 2008.
The 1Borneo project, plagued by several delays since the imminent launch was announced last year, is working with dogged determination to reach the recently revised target.
But which shops will open with the mall in May?
The Current Tenants List
Not much confirmed information about tenants at 1Borneo is available yet.
1Borneo, the shopping centre part of it at least, will consist of 4 floors. The concourse, the ground floor, the 1st floor an the 2nd floor. The tenants, in no particular order, will possibly include the following:
Hotels at 1 Borneo
The hotels at 1 Borneo include Best Western Courtyard Hotel, Tune Hotel, Mercure Hotel and the Novotel.
Supporting the hotels at 1 Borneo is what promises to be the biggest conferencing facilities in KK, Sabah and East Malaysia.
It is said that events such as the Sabah International Trade Expo 2008 have already booked to use the facilities.
Additionally, near the main entrance of 1Borneo and the hotel lobbies, a night club has been provisioned.
A Rain Tree Spa is planned, and 1Borneo’s fitness centre, for which an operator is yet to be confirmed, is also in the works.
Entertainment at 1 Borneo
Toting itself as East Malaysia’s Largest Lifestyle Hypermall, a plethora of entertainment options is to be expected from 1Borneo.
Golden Screen Cinemas (GSC) will be operating an 8-screen cineplex on the 2nd floor, a boon to KK’s movie circuit, which currently has a limited variety of venues.
Also on the 2nd floor, U Bowl will provide what is likely to be KK’s largest bowling alley, rivalling KK’s current largest facility, Growball, in Centre Point.
Amusement World, rumoured to be stocked with a range of Sega arcade games and K Box, are also to be found on the 2nd floor, which along with the spa and fitness centre makes the 2nd floor the main relaxation and entertainment destination in 1Borneo.
KK’s first commercial aquarium & ocean science discovery centre will also be presented by 1Borneo and will be located on the concourse level.
From the grapevine SabahBah heard that the same company involved with the aquarium on Sentosa Island in Singapore, is involved and Kota Kinabalu, and Sabah looks forward to appearing on the aquarium map.
Food & Restaurants at 1 Borneo
Concourse Level
When it comes to to food, 1Borneo has two things going for it: 1) 1Borneo is huge and 2) it’s in Sabah and Sabah’s food choices as huge.
Combine the 2 and the restaurant options alone should have you return to 1Borneo again and again.
The concourse level has a large concentration of food choices with a myriad of food outlets and restaurants in this area along with some non-restaurants like Giant, HSL Circuit Centre, the aquarium, furniture shops, Bata, Laundry World, Johnson Fitness and a Souvenir Shop.
The restaurants on 1Borneo’s concourse level include Old Station Kopitiam, La Manila, Crocodile Restaurant, Manhattan Fish Market, Burger King, Vedablu, KFC, Deli France, Pizza Hut, KFC, McDonald’s, Kenny Rogers, The Chicken Rice Shop, Sushi King, Big Apple, Kiew Brother BBQ, Penang Village and Michi Japanese Restaurant.
Ground Floor
Something special about the ground floor restaurants is an outside facing area, which creates a boulevard with a side-walk culture of al fresco dining and coffee.
Enabling these particular outlets to operate beyond the usual mall opening hours, it promises to be popular with the late night crowd and has potential to be a strip where there’s always a buzz of life till late.
For your coffee needs, included in this strip is Coffee Bean, Old Town White Coffee, San Francisco Coffee, Dome and Starbucks.
Food and snack outlets include HK Recipe, Made in China, Olive, Secret Recipe and New York New York.
Elsewhere on this level you’ll also find Fish & Co, Sweet Dynasty and Thai Odyssey.
1st Floor
On the first floor, sharing the limelight with a tsunami of clothing stores is Tasty Food Court, located near Laksa Shack, the upstairs part of Starbucks, Wagamama and Yoshimi. A little further along is Beijing BBQ and Dim Sum.
Clothing & Accessories at 1 Borneo
If there is one category of shops that will top the dizzying offering of food and restaurants at 1Borneo, it’s Clothing and Accessory shops. You name the brand, 1Borneo likely will feature it.
F.O.S, Island Shop, Padini, Polo, Nose, Nine West, Levi’s, Guess, Esprit, Charles & Keither, FCUK, Zara, Yishion, MAC Make-up, Body Shop, and MNG are all to be found at 1Borneo.
Nike, Adidas, Hang Ten, Billabong, Quicksilver, Asics, Crocs, Hang Ten and Body Glove also feature.
Make-up, accessories and jewellery stores are plentiful and will lie in wait for eager shoppers to stumble upon and discover their offerings.
Other Interesting Shops at 1 Borneo
Tune Department Store. From the people who brought you Tune Hotels, Tune Money and a host of other Tunes, comes Tune Department Store.
KK and Sabah’s first, Tune comes with the promise of affordability and we look forward to a glimpse of their inventory.
Ace Hardware. Wouldn’t it be nice to walk into one shop and find all your hardware requirements in one place? With Ace Hardware this will hopefully become a reality. No more going to 3 or 4 different shops to get everything you need for your DIY project.
College. Education at 1Borneo will also be possible and an area for a college has been provisioned.
Medisinar Medical Centre. Also represented at 1Borneo, ensuring that the hypermall truly is a one-stop destination.
So this is where 1Borneo is currently at. Rumours.
As the opening looms near and KK and Sabah anticipates the completion of East Malaysia’s Largest Lifestyle Hypermall, all eyes are on 1Borneo.
But, no pressure.