This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on June 22, 2017

SUBANG: Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd chairman Tan Sri Dr Mohd Irwan Serigar Abdullah said the request for proposal (RFP) for the RM12.35 billion Bandar Malaysia project will be issued sometime this week.

“We are going to issue the RFP this week. We will put certain conditions this time around [in appointing the master developer],” Mohd Irwan, who is also chairman of TRX City Sdn Bhd, told reporters after the launch of ColossusINNO 2017 yesterday.

“For example, only renowned companies or those with great experience are allowed. There will be certain criteria and if they meet the criteria, only then can they participate,” he said.

Asked if Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) had expressed interest to participate in the project again, he declined to comment except to say that there have been many parties that had indicated interest.

TRX City, a wholly-owned unit of the finance ministry (MoF), will be making a final decision regarding the master developer by July 14.

In May, TRX City terminated a planned sale of a 60% stake in Bandar Malaysia to IWH CREC Sdn Bhd, a 60:40 joint venture between IWH and China Railway Engineering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd, making the share-sale agreement null and void.

TRX City said IWH CREC had failed to meet the payment obligations under the share sale agreement. In response, IWH CREC said the allegation was unacceptable, as IWH CREC had fulfilled “all the required payment obligations” under the agreement entered into on Dec 31, 2015.

It was previously reported that there was a slew of local and foreign companies said to be keen on the Bandar Malaysia project, including property tycoon Tan Sri Desmond Lim and China-based real estate giant, Dalian Wanda Group, as well as government-linked companies.

However, Lim’s flagship company, Malton Bhd, has issued a denial to Bursa Malaysia, noting that neither its directors nor shareholders were in any discussion to bid for the project, after rumours of a joint bid between Malton, Wanda and a retirement fund.