Springfield City Group chairman Maha Sinnathamby is opening up opportunities to investors to co-develop the company's massive A$88 billion Greater Springfield development in Queensland, Australia.
The property company has already partnered with global giants like Brookfield and R&F Properties on individual projects in the development, but this was the first time that it had sought a partner at this scale.
Sinnathamby said Springfield City was seeking a partner, or consortia of partners, who were committed to working with the company to fast track the growth of the city’s economy and build even greater amenity for its people and the city.
“This is an invitation for the market to get involved in a unique project, recognised by Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull as nation-building. The cornerstones are already in place, the transport links are built and there are eleven schools, a university, and a hospital...the hard work has been done,” he said in a statement.
Sinnathamby said the company was looking for a partner, or partners, who want to work together to realise its vision of building Australia’s most futuristic city, built on the pillars of health, education, and technology.
Springfield City has appointed investment bank Moelis Australia to lead the global search for a partner to accelerate the growth of the Greater Springfield development.
Greater Springfield borders Brisbane in one of Australia’s fastest-growing growth corridors, 25 kilometre from the Central Business District (CBD), and is the nation’s largest master-planned city.
It was founded in 1992 by Sinnathamby, a Malaysian who lives in Australia.
The Negeri Sembilan-born billionaire acquired a 2,860ha parcel of land to start the development.
Around 25 per cent of the development has been completed so far, much of it through long-term partnerships with Australian property groups Lendlease, Aveo (recently-acquired by Brookfield) and Chinese property giant R&F Group.
Legislation to allow planning approval for Greater Springfield was passed unanimously by the Queensland Parliament in 1997 and the city is now home to 43,000 residents, with the population projected to grow to more than 115,000 residents by the year 2036.
Statutory approval for 2.69 million square metres of mixed-use gross floor area is in place, making it Australia’s largest master-planned city, and one of only a few privately-owned cities in the world.
The company said A$18 billion had been invested into the project so far, with a further A$70 billion expected to be required to fully realise the master plan.
Sinnathamby told Bernama recently that Greater Springfield’s potential is tremendous.