PAKATAN REVIVES BANDAR MALAYSIA – BUT MORE THAN 60% TO BE OWNED BY M’SIANS UNLIKE NAJIB – WHO SEEMS TO HAVE FORGOTTEN HE TRIED TO SELL OUT TO CHINA’S RICHEST PROPERTY GROUP WANDA DALIAN: NEW ‘PEOPLE-CENTRIC’ BANDAR MALAYSIA TO INCLUDE 10,000 AFFORDABLE HOMES, WHILE ALIBABA & HUAWEI TO LOCATE THEIR ICT CENTRES THERE

Artist impression of Bandar Malaysia.

Dr Mahathir said that the then Barisan Nasional administration had offered the project to another Chinese company, the Wanda Group, but the project fell through after the Chinese government decided to clamped down on foreign investments.

In 2017, TRX City Sdn Bhd had a share swap agreement with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd and China Railway Engineering Corporation (M) Sdn Bhd (IWH-CREC) involving the sale of 60 per cent of the issued and paid-up capital of Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd.

However, the deal fell through due to a breach in contract terms when the purchasing parties failed to meet obligation payments.

In an international open tender exercise participated by over 40 world renowned companies, including from Japan, Australia and the Middle East, the joint venture to take up 60 per cent of Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd was awarded to IWH-CREC.

Putrajaya said today that the consortium has committed to pay RM500 million in advance in addition to the original deposit of RM741 million within 60 days of the announcement today.

Bandar Malaysia, which will be developed under the public-private partnership model, is a township development project with an estimated cumulative gross development value of RM150 billion. – MALAY MAIL

Najib mocks Pakatan over Bandar Malaysia U-turn

NAJIB Razak today mocked Pakatan Harapan for making yet another U-turn, this time by reviving the Barisan Nasional government’s Bandar Malaysia project.

PH is resuming the project with the same contractors and on the same terms of agreement, the former prime minister wrote on Facebook.

“Officially the Bandar Malaysia 1MDB project is revived. On 100% of the same terms that Barisan Nasional had agreed to,” he said.

“The buyers, including the Chinese companies, are the same. Ownership equity is the same. The price is the same. The contract is the same as the one signed by BN.

“One more big U-turn by PH.”

Earlier today Prime Minister Dr Mahathrir Mohamad said the government was revivingthe project with the original contractor, IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd.

IWH-CREC is a 60:40 joint venture between China Railway Engineering Corporation and Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd, in which the Johor government has a 40% stake.

The consortium lost the project in May 2017 after Putrajaya said it failed to meet payment obligations.

Located at the former Sungai Besi Airport site, Bandar Malaysia is a 2ha transit-oriented mixed development project announced by Najib in May 2011.

The project owner, 1Malaysian Development Bhd sold a 60% stake in Bandar Malaysia to IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd in December 2015.

Najib today said the project’s revival means the accusations hurled at him and the previous government now apply to the PH government.

Accusations of “selling the country, bankrupt project, kowtowing to China… these can now be thrown back at PH”.

The PH government has come under criticism for its numerous about-turns, from its inability to deliver on its election promises to reviving BN-era projects that it had cancelled.

Earlier this week, the government signed a renegotiated deal with China to proceed wtih the East Cost Rail Link project at a reduced cost. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT

MALAY MAIL / THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT