PUTRAJAYA: The Bandar Malaysia project will have a significant impact on Malaysia’s economy as it will serve as a hub to further attract high-impact global multinationals.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the RM140 billion project will also allow for potential co-action in the fields of finance, technology and entrepreneurship.
"The revised development plan for Bandar Malaysia will ensure that it will be more inclusive and will be able to be aligned with Malaysia’s socio-economic growth.
"With an expected gross development value (GDV) of RM140 billion, it will generate tremendous impact on urban development for Malaysia to further draw foreign direct investments," he said in his speech at the signing ceremony of the Bandar Malaysia project today.
The project, which was suspended in 2017, officially resumed today with the signing of an agreement between TRX City Sdn Bhd, wholly owned by the government and IWH CREC Sdn Bhd(IWH-CREC), the consortium comprising lskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC).
Dr Mahathir said the Bandar Malaysia will also add value to the economy through substantive jobs creation, acceleration of retail and institutional demand for commercial and residential space.
"Along the way, we will be moving small and medium enterprises up the value chain and stimulating demand for Malaysian-produced construction materials, technology and homegrown talents in advancing sustainable urban growth.
"This is a vision and commitment that we share with IWH-CREC, the master developer for Bandar Malaysia.
"The project should be viewed in the context of a long-term development of over 20 years, of how it will have the opportunity to help shape Kuala Lumpur’s direction in the next few decades as a potential transport hub, a commercial centre and how as a liveable and sustainable development in this age of environmental consciousness," he said.
The prime minister, meanwhile, said he had asked to the project to start immediately so he would be able see the Bandar Malaysia vision come to life.
"I think (the project will start) very soon.. I have told them to start immediately because I want to see it myself... Twenty years more, I won't be seeing it," he said in jest.
Under the new deal, IWH-CREC will also build 10,000 units of affordable homes in Bandar Malaysia.
"We want people to share the new development together, we don't want it to be exclusive for the very rich. We will make the homes more affordable by partly subsidising by the development of more expensive projects," said Dr Mahathir.
Also present at the event were Economic Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali and Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
The Bandar Malaysia project was announced in 2011 by former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The 196ha integrated property development project in Sungai Besi in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, was previously owned by 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB).