Malaysian property developer Iskandar is planning to turn its land surrounding Singapore into a regional theme park hub, with four new such attractions lined up for the economic growth corridor.

According to Datuk Ismail, CEO of the Iskandar Regional Development Authority (IRDA), Iskandar Malaysia will be home to eight new theme parks within the next three-to-five years.

Ismail said that talks are ongoing between IRDA and theme park operators based in Australia, Indonesia, Japan, Europe and North America, with sizes ranging anywhere from 200,000sq m (2.1m sq ft) to 404,000sq m (4.3m sq ft).

Included in the list of eight theme parks are the existing Legoland Malaysia, Hello Kitty Indoor Theme Park, Angry Birds @ JBCC and a yet-to-be-branded waterpark currently under development at Taman Mount Austin.

Ismail also added at the press conference that one of the planned theme parks would be an indoor IT-based attraction and that investment for new parks is ranging anywhere between RM500m (US$122.6m, €110m, £78m) to RM1bn (US$245m, €220m, £157m) depending on the size and scope of the project. Another confirmed theme park is the ‘snow world’ park, which will be part of the Chinese state-owned Greenland Group’s RM2.4bn (US$664m, €586.8m, £440m) mixed-use development known as Iskandar Waterfront City.