KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 16): UEM Sunrise Bhd has entered into a joint venture (JV) with Mulpha International Bhd to develop three parcels of land in Nusajaya for a mixed developments with a gross development value (GDV) of RM5 billion.

At the signing ceremony today, UEM Sunrise managing director/chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib said the 50:50 JV company will be developing the three parcels of land over 20 years.

Two parcels of land, which currently belong to UEM Sunrise, measures a total 129.79 acres. The development of the land, which is located next to Mulpha’s Leisure Farm gated development, will be led by Mulpha.

Meanwhile, the remaining parcel of 65.48-acre land, located near Gerbang Nusajaya, will be developed by UEM Sunrise.

Planning for the development will commence in the second half of 2016, with Phase 1 of the project having a GDV of RM150 million, expected to be launched in 2018.

“We are excited to be expanding our synergistic collaboration with Mulpha that will not only allow both parties to leverage on each other’s strengths, but more importantly, integrate both our respective Gerbang Nusajaya and Leisure Farm master plans that emphasise on liveability, connectivity and employment opportunities.

“This augurs well with our goal towards transforming Gerbang Nusajaya, the second wave development of Iskandar Puteri into an attractive, well-connected and livable area,” said Anwar.

To recap, the JV follows the two companies’ maiden collaboration in May 2014, which saw UEM Sunrise and Mulpha’s respective subsidiaries Nusajaya Rise Sdn Bhd and Leisure Farm Corp Sdn Bhd, building and upgrading three sets of road works in Iskandar Malaysia.

“This new JV reflects the increasing areas of collaboration between our two organisations and reinforces our commitment for long term value creation, through our continuous reinvestment in Iskandar Malaysia,” said Mulpha executive chairman Lee Seng Huang.

UEM Sunrise share price gained two sen or 1.6% to 96 sen today, bringing its market capitalisation to RM4.36 billion. Meanwhile, Mulpha closed unchanged at 26 sen, giving a market capitalisation of RM554.75 million.