It now seems that a new Legoland theme park is set to open in Malaysia in 2012. Right now this park is said to cost around 700 million ringgit, or 206 million dollars. This new announcement is a big deal, because it means that Malaysia would get its Legoland theme park a year ahead of schedule.

The president and chief executive office for Iskandar Investment Berhad, Arlida Ariff, said that the theme park will cover 26 hectares in Johor state, which does neighbor Singapore. Right now it is slated to be open in April of 2012.

She went on to say that the section of Legoland is very deliberate. The planned theme park in Singapore, by Universal Studios, will be for young adults. This one is more for families, and will be complementary rather than competition.

The Malaysia Legoland will actually be the very first Legoland in Asia. Iskandar Investment Berhad is an investment holding company linked to the 17.7 billion ringgit Iskandar Development Region, which is a major infrastructure project in Johor.

The Iskandar development Region, which launched in November of 2006, will be 2.5 times the size of Singapore’s when completed. This does include up market residential homes, a logistics hub, and a medical hub among other things..

Back in 2008, Iskandar Investment Berhad signed an agreement with Merlin Entertainments, which already operates various attractions across the globe. Merlin Entertainments will design and, of course, operate the theme park, which will be a 20 percent shareholder. Iskandar Investment Berhad will own the remainder of the shares.