Image: The park is the first Legoland in Asia

Merlin Entertainments has opened its first Asian Legoland attractions at the Iskender leisure development in Nusajaya, Johor, Malaysia.

The park is a joint venture between Merlin and two local investors - Themed Attractions and Resorts (TAR) and Iskandar Investment Berhad (IIB).

The 76-acre park has 40 interactive rides and attractions and it is hoped that the park will attract more than 1.5 million people a year.

There are also plans to develop the park further and for it to become the largest destination resort in Southeast Asia.

A waterpark will open in 2013 and a themed hotel within the grounds of the attraction is scheduled to open in 2014.

John Jakobsen, managing director of Legoland parks for Merlin Entertainments, said: "We share our partners' vision for the area in creating a hub for international theme park entertainment.

"Legoland Malaysia is truly unique and together with the accessibility to Johor, Singapore and the rest of Southeast Asia we believe the Park will be a great success."

The Malaysian site is the first of many new Legoland attractions planned for Asia. In September 2011, Merlin revealed that it had identified Asia Pacific as an important new development region for future Legoland developments.

It has earmarked a number of potential sites for further investigation and has reached principal agreements with the regional government and key potential private investors in Korea, paving the way to more detailed negotiations.

Work is currently underway on detailed planning related to the new site in Chuncheon City in Gangwon province, South Korea, approximately 60km from the capital of Seoul.