The city government of Kuala Lumpur will freeze the issuance of new hotel licences due to perceived saturation in the market, a news report said today.

The decision to suspend approvals of new licences, for all types of hotels, from budget to 6-star, was made in consultation with the federal government, The Star newspaper reported, citing Kuala Lumpur Mayor Mohmad Amin Nordin Abdul Aziz.

There are currently 939 hotels in the city, including more than 400 budget hotels, the report said.

“There is an oversupply of hotels and office spaces in Kuala Lumpur now, and we have been advised by the government to be strict on this, so we will not be giving any more development orders (DOs) for hotels until further notice,” Mohmad Amin said.

But Mohmad Amin said projects that have already received planning permission will not be impacted by the order.

“From here on out, we will advise developers to look at other forms of development when they submit new applications,” he said.

The Kuala Lumpur city government said the number of hotel rooms in the city exceeds 56,000, noting these are sufficient for the 12 million foreign tourists expected this year.

- dpa