Malaysia's E&O Property Development Berhad will launch the first of its luxury villas in Seri Tanjung Pinang, one of Penang Island's largest seafront developments this Saturday. The freehold villas, which E&O calls Villas By-The-Sea, are just minutes away from Gurney Drive, Penang’s famed seafront shopping and recreational belt. A joint venture with CIMB-Mapletree private real estate fund and Al Salam Bank of Bahrain, three types of villas are offered – the Martinique, Abrezza and Skye. 

Offering spectacular vistas of the Andaman Sea and Straits of Malacca, the Martinique villas are two-storey Caribbean-style plantation mansions with private lap pools. The three-storey Abrezza and Skye villas are smaller by comparison but still offer luxurious living spaces, complete with balconies, patios, gardens and terraces.  All villas are decked in imported Italian Botticino and Arabescarto marble, and Burmese teak flooring. Villas By-The-Sea is scheduled for completion in mid-2009, and will be priced from USD828,575 to USD2.26 million. 

These villas form part of the 980-acre dual-phased Seri Tanjung Pinang project. Phase One, is conceptualized by architectural firm Wimberly Allison Tong & Goo (WATG), and will feature terraced, semi-detached houses, condominiums and service apartments lined with landscaped parks, boulevards and seafront esplanades, spanning an area of 240 acres.  Phase Two is undertaken by Belt Collins, a leading design and consulting firm, and will see the development of a cluster of islands connected by bridges off the coast of Penang.