PUTRAJAYA: The nine proposals from Fortune 500 companies, bidding for the Bandar Malaysia, project showed confidence of the value and impact of the project.
Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani said the companies recognised the project will be of great benefit for future development.
“They (bidders) must have also recognised the establishment and importance of the High Speed Rail (HSR) project and mass rapid transit (MRT), and how it can benefit the country.
“This also strengthen the government’s vision that Bandar Malaysia will be the way forward and a ‘game changer’ for Kuala Lumpur to develop further,” he told reporters after chairing the 2018 Budget Focus Group Meeting today.
According to a Straits Times report on Tuesday, the government has received nine pitches – two from Japanese giants and seven from China – to be the master developer the project.
Commenting on International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) upgrade of Malaysia’s 2017 economic growth to 4.8 per cent, Johari said the country is still keeping to its growth projection of between 4 and 5 per cent.
“We will stick to our projection because the world economic is very dynamic. It is not easy to simply revise. I think our range is quite wide between four to five per cent.
“We will see how the second and third quarters go,” he added.
IMF’s forecast, he said, showed the country’s strong fundamental despite the negative political noises.
“IMF, World Bank and other international financial institutions recognise our (the strength of) economy despite the unwanted noise.
“However, political differences should not be allowed to be a factor to hamper our economy. This will make everyone lose,” he added.