By Sharina Ahmad
THE government has revived the Bandar Malaysia project after the necessary “detoxification exercise” – as Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng put it – which ensures that it still generates economic benefits for urban development.
Compared to the original agreement negotiated by the previous government which was signed on Dec 31, 2015, the new agreement signed on Dec 17 contains improved terms.
Lim said subsequent to the signing of the framework agreement on April 25, the cabinet approved the establishment of a Bandar Malaysia Development Advisory Committee under his ministry to renegotiate improved terms that ensure that the project will truly benefit Malaysia and its people.
“The payment by the Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH)-China Railway Engineering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd (CREC) joint venture for the 60% stake was anchored on Bandar Malaysia land being valued at RM12.35 bil.
“In this revived deal, the staggered payment terms have been shortened and accelerated from the original seven years to three years to the benefit of the government,” he said at the signing ceremony.
In addition to the original deposit sum of RM741 mil, Lim said IWH-CREC will also pay an additional RM500 mil as an advance payment.
The project would also bring substantive economic value to the nation with an expected gross development value (GDV) of about RM140 bil.
With an area of 0.4ha, it is the single largest development plot within Kuala Lumpur. In May 2017, the deal was abruptly terminated following the unravelling of the 1MDB scandal.
Meanwhile, prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamed told a press conference that Bandar Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) terminus would be part of the project although the HSR project yet to be confirmed.
He said the rail project is expected to be rationalised in the interest of keeping the cost low from its original estimate of RM110 bil.
“Yes, it will have the HSR station although we have not decided on the actual HSR project itself, but we will have a station for the HSR,” he said.
Tun Mahathir said the HSR project could go ahead if there is some assurance that some terms of the agreement can be reviewed.
“We will go ahead [with the project] but we will have to find out what is the most suitable speed that we should have,” he added.
“It doesn’t necessarily have to be at 400km per hour because if it travels at that speed, it might reach Alor Setar instead. So, we will look at what is most suitable for this project.”
