CAPITALAND China, a subsidiary of Southeast Asia's biggest developer CapitaLand Ltd, announced yesterday that it has acquired a prime residential site in Chengdu, western Sichuan Province, at a price of 1.17 billion yuan (US$151.9 million).

The Singapore-based property developer plans to build 3,800 homes, together with some other retail facilities, on the site, which is located on Guanghua Avenue, a 10-minute drive from the city center, the company said in an email statement.

The three-phase project, scheduled to be completed by 2012, further indicated the real estate company's strategy to expand its multi-sector footprint from key gateway cities in Bohai, Yangtze River Delta and Pearl River Delta, to the second and third-tier cities in the central and western regions of China. CapitaLand has been growing its multi-sector presence in Chengdu. In addition to the above site, the company plans to build well-designed and affordable homes through its joint venture with a leading Sichuan developer - Chengdu Zhixin Industrial Co Ltd. The joint-venture company will develop about 25,000 homes between now and 2014.