InterContinental Hotels Group has signed a management agreement with SKS Hotel Residences and Resorts, a member of SKS Group, to bring the Holiday Inn brand to the capital of Johor, Malaysia, with the new 318-guestroom Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre.

The Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre will be part of the Komtar JBCC mixed-use development, which includes retail and commercial office spaces.

“Johor Bahru holds enormous economic potential that is further fueled by its strong connectivity to Singapore, with heightened visitor influx expected with the completion of the Singapore-Johor Bahru Rapid Transit System in 2024,” Rajit Sukumaran, chief development officer AMEA at IHG, said in a statement. “The state government is also investing in developing the downtown area into a tourism and business hub. These factors bode well for us.”

The owner, SKS Group, is one of Johor’s largest developers with a strong hotel portfolio that includes four upcoming hotels in Western Australia, as well as several existing and pipeline hotels in Johor Bahru and Desaru.

“The brand’s mid-scale positioning will be an excellent fit for corporate and leisure travelers, and coupled with its strategic location, we believe Holiday Inn Johor Bahru City Centre will be well-received when it opens its doors to guests in 2020,” Cindi Sim, group managing director at SKS Group, said.