KUALA LUMPUR: MK Land Holdings Bhd’s 3,000-acre (1,214 sq m) mixed development project Bandar Teknopolis Perdana (formerly known as Lembah Beriah) in Perak is back on track after a hiatus of over 10 years since the launch of the first phase of residential homes.
 
The mammoth project was placed on the back-burner as MK Land had issues providing strategic access to the site, said its chief executive Lau Shu Chuan. The group is now looking at kicking off the project’s next phase which will entail the development of a campus and industrial properties, after the Alor Pongsu elevated interchange was completed on the North-South Expressway earlier this year.
 
“The project came to a delay after we launched the first phase of residential properties more than [a decade ago]. However, we are recommencing work there as a better access to the site is now available, and we are looking for the right investors to work with us [on the project] as it involves various components,” Lau told reporters after the group’s annual general meeting yesterday.
 
MK Land has just obtained approval from the Kerian District Council to rename the development to “Bandar Teknopolis Perdana”. 
 
“We are now building more access roads to the site. However, we do not want to rush ourselves with the development. We want to make good use of all our resources so that the investment yield will be better,” he added, in response to a question regarding the economic slowdown’s impact on the project.
 
On other ongoing developments, Lau said its Residensi Suasana residential project in Damansara Damai, comprising three phases with 260 units each, is “going very well”. The Phase 1 now has a 90% take-up rate and registrations are being taken for the Phase 2.
 
Lau said the group may also consider developing the 1,000-acre Bukit Merah Laketown Resort in Perak to include other components, though this may only take place in the next three to five years and would be carried out in joint ventures with partners. “We are open towards partnering with both local and foreign companies. It’s a sizeable land and local companies may not have the financial muscle to execute the project.”
 
He added that the group has been in talks with agencies such as the Malaysian Investment Development Authority, Perak Investment Management Centre, Northern Corridor Implementation Authority, as well as parties from Turkey and Japan.
 
MK Land, with 4,900 acres of land bank, acknowledged that while times remain tough, “all is not lost” as the group has sound assets and products, including some 1,189 residential units worth over RM500 million, slated for launch in the financial year 2017 (FY17). “We recognise that the market is very tough. The need for properties is still there but buyers and investors require end-financing with the most affordable margin. This remains a stumbling block for them,” Lau lamented. Sales in FY16, he said, were “very miserable”.
 
Still, the FY17 prospects remain good for the group as it banks on its ongoing projects and upcoming launches in the northern and central regions of Malaysia. “Looking at what we have on our plate, we have set a sales target of RM400 million for FY17.”
 
MK Land’s total unbilled sales is currently at RM85 million. Its net profit for FY16 slipped 69.7% to RM16.33 million, from RM53.96 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenue dropped 36.4% to RM310.4 million from RM488.32 million in FY15.
 
For the first financial quarter ended Sept 30, 2016 (1QFY17), despite its revenue slipping 13.6% to RM63.37 million from RM73.32 million a year earlier, MK Land’s net profit rose by 46.8% to RM4.12 million from RM2.81 million. Its shares closed unchanged at 28 sen yesterday, with a market capitalisation of RM337.29 million.