KUALA LUMPUR (May 16): Yayasan Wilayah Persekutuan (YMP), the registered proprietor of the land earmarked for development in the Taman Rimba Kiara area, has clarified that the scaled-down version of the project will not encroach into the boundaries of the public park there.

Briefing the media at the project site today, YMP chief executive officer Zaizalnizam Zainun said the project now covers about eight acres of land compared with the initial 12 acres.

“Rest assured that the development here will only encompass areas that have been permitted. Indeed, the initial plan is 12 acres of development, but we have reduced the area and it will not go over into the area of Taman Rimba Kiara,” he claimed.  

With the reduced area of development, Zaizalnizam said four  acres of land will be returned to Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for the use of the public to gain access to the park. He added that the area will be upgraded with a parking lot and green area for visitors of the park, without any compensation from the Government.  

“We will return the four acres of land to Taman Rimba Kiara which we will upgrade so that there will be parking and green areas for the convenience of visitors to the park. The upgrade and transfer of land ownership is for free,” he added.

Zaizalnizam explained that the first phase of the development will involve the construction of two blocks of condominiums as well as the ‘Rumah Mampu Milik Wilayah Persekutuan’ (RUMAWIP).

Some 100 units of RUMAWIP will be given to the first generation of the longhouse residents for free, and another 100 units will be sold at 50% of the market price to the second generation of  residents.

“We will start construction of RUMAWIP first as part of Phase 1. After it is completed, then only the residents of the longhouse will move into their new homes. And then we will start constructing Phase 2.

“So there should be no issue of the longhouse residents being asked to move and relocated during the construction of the project,” he said, adding that the first phase is expected to be completed within three years after getting approval.

Under the revised plan, the development project will comprise four blocks of condominiums occupying eight acres of land, compared with the initial plan to have eight blocks of high-end condominiums occupying 12 acres of land.

Zaizalnizam said YMP has spent a total of RM155 million on the project so far, including RM60 million for land premium. Under the scaled-down plan of the project, the initial expected gross development value (GDV) of RM3 billion has been cut down to half, he added.

At the moment, the status of the project is up to the approval of the Cabinet after the issue was brought up by Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad.

Yesterday, Segambut Member of Parliament Hannah Yeoh said her counter proposal will be presented together with this proposal for the Cabinet to decide the next course of action.