Malaysia's multi-million-dollar answer to Hollywood is in dire straits after falling into debt just two years after its ambitious launch, a report said Wednesday.

The Entertainment Village (E-Village), modelled after Universal Studios in the United States and intended to make Malaysia the hub of the booming Asian film industry, owes about RM190,000 in utility bills, the New Straits Times said.

A spokesperson for the village facilitator Multimedia Development Corporation (MDC), when contacted, "declined to "confirm or deny anything at the moment."

The newspaper said water supply to the site was cut off Tuesday while power firm Tenaga Nasional was preparing to disconnect the electricity supply in the next few days if arrears were not paid.

It quoted a source as saying MDC had appealed for more time as a new management was expected to take over administration of the village in the next few weeks.

The RM3 billion E-Village project, located in the Multimedia Super Corridor hi-tech zone, was launched by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad in September 2000.

The village was envisioned to have eight studios, an academy of dramatic arts, theme parks, a hotel, residential areas and health farms but the project was halted after the developer ran into cashflow problems, the daily added. — AFP