Langkawi Island to get its own 'Nurburging' race track in 2023

By sep, 01 April 2021

If you've clicked on the link to feed your curiosity due to the title, we would like to inform you that yes, it is true, and no, it is not an April Fool's joke. The beautiful island of Langkawi will get its own super-premium race track/resort modeled after the famous Nurburgring in Germany.

OPen Road Asia has agreed to a joint venture with Kedah's government investment and development arm, Permodalan Kedah Berhad (PKB) to develop a 'premier tourist and motorsports destination in Malaysia' dubbed the OPen Road International Circuit and Integrated Resorts (ORIC and IR). This particular JV has been officially signed off during a ceremony between all involved parties. Yup, still not an April Fool's joke, folks.

Their plan is to build the entire thing is an area covering 183 acres of sea-facing land near Bukit Malut. Apart from an FIA-sanctioned circuit (they already have a nickname for it, "Nurburgring of the East"), they're also planning to include luxury residential properties, high-end retail outlets, five-star hotels, 4S auto dealerships, a storage facility that can house over 900 vehicles, petrol stations, and a host of tourist attractions. Their proposed budget? RM1.3 billion. Wow.

According to Dato' David Goh, Founder and Group Advisor of OPen Road Asia, "This ORIC Integrated project, with a gross development value of RM 1.3b is expected to provide an immediate high impact economic boost to Pulau Langkawi and the state of Kedah, and Malaysia upon its completion in five years’ time. With a projected increase of high-spending and affluent tourists’ arrival both locally and internationally, it is envisioned that this project will help create an endless stream of business and job opportunities for Kedahans via the island’s economic expansion. It is our hope that this project will further position Malaysia as Southeast Asia’s most preferred tourist destination.”

As for the track itself, it'll be a 5.9km circuit designed with aspects like one of the world's longest straights in the world, banked curves, elevation changes, and multiple hairpins. It's definitely a mega project, to say the least, and if it does come into fruition (targetted to be around Q2 of 2023), it'll be one hell of a motorsports venue. Two years, huh? Fingers crossed, folks.