KUALA LUMPUR: Widad Business Group (WBG) plans to call for a request for proposals for subcontracts for Phase 1 of the estimated RM40 billion Widad Langkasuka development in Langkawi as early as the second quarter of 2023 (2Q2023).
Phase 1, also known as Langkasuka Village, would boast a gross development value (GDV) of RM4 billion, said WBG chief executive officer Datuk Dr. Mohd Rizal Jaafar.
According to him, WBG was working on submitting building plans for plots for Langkasuka Village for approval.
The selection of subcontractors would take place in stages, said Mohd Rizal, who also serves as CEO of Bursa malaysia's main-market listed Widad Group Bhd.
"We will begin with the Golf and Country Club package, followed by the commercial plaza, the designer mall with SOHO units, hotel, luxury condominiums, and finally, serviced apartments. The category of the parcels will include a package for villas," he told the New Straits Times.
WBG, a conglomerate founded in 2002, has a variety of business interests including integrated facility management, building, real estate development, defence technologies, energy and water, education and media.
Tan Sri Muhammad Ikmal Opat Abdullah, who is the single-largest shareholder in Widad Group and Dataprep Holdings Bhd, is the sole owner of WBG.
WBG is the master developer of Widad Langkasuka through its wholly-owned Langkasuka Land Sdn Bhd.
Mohd Rizal said Widad Langkasuka would be built over 1,979 acres and should be completed in 15 to 20 years.
"The development period of 15 to 20 years will allow us to maintain the city's green development aspirations and delicate treatment of the environment, which goes hand in hand with our well-planned and coordinated collective infrastructure plannings to achieve the organic growth aspect, the city's life force," he said.
He said Langkasuka Village, which spans 221 acres and is expected to be completed by the end of 2028, would serve as the development's starting point.
The completion period of the various packages for Langkasuka Village would be between 2025 and 2028, he added.
Mohd Rizal said the EIA study for Langkasuka Village, which did not need land reclamation work, had been completed.
He said the next development in Widad Langkasuka would be Langkasuka City, involving six phases over 1,766 acres.
"For Langkasuka City, we will take at least one year of study and put in attention to alleviate possible impact to the environment and the people of Langkawi," he said.
WBG aims to start the necessary planning submissions for Langkasuka City to the various approving authorities by the second half of next year (2H2023) and award the first package of the land reclamation works contracts by 1H2025.
Mohd Rizal said WBG hoped to work with local and foreign contractors who can undertake the construction works.
"This includes the land reclamation works that will be essential to transform phases two to seven into the eagle-shaped man-made islands of Langkasuka City," he said.
Mohd Rizal said the preliminary stages of the development would be funded by internally generated funds.
He said WBG was in negotiations with a few bankers and strategic investors as it explored the various modes to fund the development.