Friday 29 Mar 2024
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This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 5, 2015.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Selangor state government is in favour of finding amicable solutions to the RM1.18 billion land deal in Ijok, Kuala Selangor, which has hit a snag, through dialogue, said Menteri Besar Incorporated Selangor (MBI) chief executive officer Raja Shahreen Raja Othman.

The investment holding arm of the Selangor government is confident that the issues will be ironed out if all parties to the dispute comprising Eco World Development Group Bhd (EcoWorld), MBI and the vendors were to sit down and talk.

“[If] all parties involved can come together to resolve the matter, then maybe the issues can be resolved outside of court,” Raja Shahreen told The Edge Financial Daily.

But until that happens, there could be concerns about several parcels of land that have been earmarked for a RM15 billion township project that can have legal implications, he said.

However, he said the state had yet to make any decision on the matter and will need to engage its state legal officers before deciding on its next course of action.

When contacted, EcoWorld president and chief executive officer Datuk Chang Khim Wah declined to comment.

It is understood that a meeting has been scheduled between Eco World and the Selangor government.

EcoWorld on Sept 25 reportedly said the company would seek a meeting with the Selangor government to clear any doubts about the development of a RM15 billion township project involving 2,198 acres (889.66ha) of land in Kuala Selangor.

Chang was quoted as saying that the agreement for the proposed acquisition of the large parcels of land in Kuala Selangor from the vendors was still conditional.

“One of the conditions precedent requires the vendors to ensure the state government has no objections to our proposed acquisition of the land, and that any legal disputes with the state government are satisfactorily resolved before the agreements become unconditional,” he added.

Back in 2013, former Selangor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim and six others succeeded in striking out a civil claim by two housing developers, LBCN Development Sdn Bhd and Mujur Zaman Sdn Bhd, over alleged wrongful conduct in forfeiting and acquiring their land. LBCN Development and Mujur Zaman were claiming for RM5 billion in damages.

The developers named Abdul Khalid, Selangor Land and Mines director, Selangor Registrar of Land Titles, Kuala Selangor Land Administrator, the Selangor government and MBI as defendants.

LBCN Development and Mujur Zaman are two of four vendors that have recently signed a sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Eco World’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Paragon Pinnacle Sdn Bhd, for the proposed acquisition of 26 pieces of land in Ijok, Selangor. The other two vendors are Ringgit Exotika Sdn Bhd and Liputan Canggih Sdn Bhd.

EcoWorld announced that it intends to develop the parcels of land into a self-contained township, with a potential gross development value of RM15 billion based on preliminary management estimates.

However, MBI on Sept 23 issued a statement contending that the parcels of land EcoWorld plans to acquire are actually land located in the intended township of Alam Mutiara, which is currently involved in ongoing legal court proceedings with the Selangor government.

In the statement, MBI expressed its regret that the relevant vendors had entered into SPAs with Paragon Pinnacle, in particular, for the pieces of land in Alam Mutiara.

“By reason of the recent transaction entered by the relevant vendors with EcoWorld’s subsidiary company over the subject matter that is in dispute in court, the management of MBI will explore any legal relief or remedies that MBI may have under the law or equity, including but not limited to the possibility of making [an] application for an injunction due to action made by the relevant vendors,” MBI said.

Checks with the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry’s official portal, however, showed that the Alam Mutiara project is still classified as an abandoned housing project in a recovery plan.

Originally a farmland, Alam Mutiara is an abandoned project for almost 13 years now. The housing development was supposed to be completed in 2002.

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