Bandar Malaysia agreement with IWH CREC aborted
Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corperation (M) Sdn Bhd (CREC) are no longer the master developers of the RM200 billion Bandar Malaysia project due to their failure to meet the payment obligations. TRX City Sdn Bhd, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of the Ministry of Finance (MoF), said the sale of its 60% interest in Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd has lapsed. MoF will now be retaining 100% ownership of the site, and TRX City will immediately be inviting expressions of interest for the role of master developer of the Bandar Malaysia project in Sungai Besi. On the selection process for the master developer of Bandar Malaysia, TRX City said the criteria will include track record, speed of delivery and financial capability for such large scale development. (The Sun Daily; The Edge Markets)

Image from Free Malaysia Today

First tender for KL-Singapore HSR set for 4Q17
The first tender for the KL-Singapore high-speed rail (HSR) project will be called in 4Q 2017 for the purpose of setting up an assets company, followed by infrastructure tenders in 1Q 2018, said SPAD. It was noted that there are a lot of international interest to bid for the infrastructure tenders. For the operation of cross-border services, both MyHSR Corp Sdn Bhd, a MoF Inc subsidiary, and Singapore‘s Land Transport Authority would be appointed to operate the HSR services. Foreign bidders are required to ensure a 40% Bumiputera content so that local businesses can also benefit. (The Edge Markets)

I-Bhd plans new launches worth RM5.3bil
Property developer I-Bhd is planning to launch properties worth some RM5.312 billion from the middle of this year. The new launches in the pipeline are all located in i-City, Shah Alam, namely Hill10 Residence, residential and smart office development Converge, The Jewel mixed development, and a retail development. Hill10 Residence, which will be launched in June, is an Internet of Things (IoT)-ready serviced residences with GDV of RM123mil. In 2018, the company will launch Converge, which comprises two blocks of residential towers and a smart office development with a GDV of RM559mil and RM230mil, respectively. From 2019, the developer will roll out the retail development with a GDV of RM470mil and The Jewel— a mixed development worth RM3.9bil. (The Edge Markets)

SHL partners Japan’s Marubeni to develop RM327mil condo project
SHL Consolidated Bhd is partnering Japanese general trading firm Marubeni Corp to develop a condominium project with an estimated GDV of RM327 million in Bandar Sungai Long, Selangor. A joint venture agreement between SHL’s wholly-owned unit SHL Development Sdn Bhd (67%) and Marubeni’s unit MC Chance Malaysia Sdn Bhd (33%) will undertake the project after acquiring the plot from a unit of SHL Development for RM50 million. The project will comprise 568 condominium units, and is expected to launch this month and completed in March 2020. (The Edge Markets)

State can take over abandoned buildings
Under Section 127 of the National Land Code, a property or building that has been left in an uninhabitable or abandoned state can be forfeited to the state government. This means that local councils are allowed to take over pre-war buildings if they have been left in an uninhabitable state. Regarding the number of abandoned pre-ware buildings in Taiping, an expert said the state should exercise its right to reclaim the land. The abandoned buildings include some 100 old houses, shoplots and the 132-year-old Perak Railways building. (Malay Mail Online)

An abandoned pre-war house (Photo from Malay Mail)

Trive Property to supply components for UTM-VSolar project
Trive Property Group Bhd will assist VSolar Group Bhd to develop solar energy generation facilities with GDV of RM150mil in a solar farming project with Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM). Trive would supply various solar components such as solar panels, solar inverters, solar pumps, mounting frames, and others. UTM and VSolar had signed a JV agreement to develop the facilities and conduct research and development activities into commercialisation of renewable energy technologies. UTM will provide a 20-acre site per 10 megawatts for the facilities. (The Star Online)