PETALING JAYA: Malaysian
Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) is tipped to refurbish the various sports
facilities at the National Sports Complex (NSC) in Bukit Jalil,
including the 17-year-old Bukit Jalil Stadium, which is the main venue
for sporting events in the country.
Sources said the refurbishment work could
cost up to RM1bil and in return, MRCB would get parcels of land in the
vicinity of the NSC for development if the proposal is approved.
Apart from the refurbishment of the various
facilities, the job will also involve building a sports museum and hall
of fame to commemorate sporting greats.
“MRCB has submitted the proposal to the
Youth and Sports Ministry and is awaiting the results. It is for the
refurbishment of a few stadiums,” said a source.
The buildings in the NSC include the Bukit
Jalil National Stadium, Putra Stadium, National Hockey Stadium, National
Aquatic Centre and National Squash Centre.
The UEM-Renong group built the facilities in
the 90s for the Commonwealth Games in 1998. They have not seen much
refurbishment since then.
Sources said that the development of the
land surrounding the stadium would be done after the refurbishment works
have been completed. “The land MRCB would get in return for the
refurbishment and building of new infrastructure would depend on the
cost of the job. That will be the next phase of the project,” said the
source.
A spokesperson from the Youth and Sports
Ministry confirmed that plans to refurbish the stadiums in Bukit Jalil
were in the pipeline.
The spokesperson, however, declined to reveal if the stadiums would be confined to just those within the NSC.
“We will reveal more information very soon,” the spokesperson said.
A property developer with a project in Bukit Jalil said that land was hard to come by, especially near the NSC.
“Not many parcels are for sale. It is strategic and has good access,” said the developer who declined to be named.
Among the companies with land bank in the
area near the Bukit Jalil sports complex is Berjaya Land Bhd, which has
developed a golf course with bungalows.
The bungalow parcels are going for about RM350 per sq ft.
One of the biggest developers in that area
is Malton Bhd, which has 50 acres to be jointly developed with Ho Hup
Construction Bhd. The plan is to build a large shopping mall called
Pavilion 2.
There are several smaller developers that have launched apartment buildings that are being sold at more than RM600 per sq ft.
MRCB, after seeing a change in its
management that is now headed by group managing director Tan Sri Mohamad
Salim Fateh Din, has become one of the more aggressive property
developers and infrastructure builders.
The strategy adopted by Salim is to emphasise on cash flow and enhance the group’s assets that are providing recurring income.
In this respect, it injected Platinum
Sentral into Quill Capita Trust Bhd, a real estate investment trust
(REIT) company, last year for shares and cash in a deal valued at
RM740mil.
After that exercise, MRCB has become the
single largest shareholder of the REIT that is now called MRCB-Quill
REIT Bhd and it hopes to benefit from the steady dividend income.
MRCB also owns a highway in Johor called the
Eastern Dispersal Link that leads to the Customs, Immigration and
Quarantine Complex before connecting to the Causeway into Singapore.
MRCB announced last week that it had bagged
three construction jobs worth RM485mil in Desaru Coast, Johor, from
Destination Resorts and Hotel.
The projects involve a RM61.4mil conference
centre, the 386-room Desa Desaru hotel valued at RM212mil and the
275-room Westin Desaru Resort worth RM211.6mil, said MRCB, adding that
the construction period of the projects would be between 19 and 21
months.
According to a report, the more jobs are
expected to be added to MRCB’s order book, as it is set to launch a
mixed development with an estimated gross development value of between
RM1.2bil and RM1.6bil next year.
The first phase of multi-billion-ringgit
Desaru Coast features four premium resorts – Aman Country Club and Aman
Villas, Datai Desaru, Sheraton Resort and Plantation Hotel.
The whole Desaru Coast development, stretching 17km over 3,900 acres, is estimated to take 15 to 20 years to complete.
For its first quarter ended March 31, MRCB’s
net profit jumped to RM237.86mil from RM11.99mil in the previous
corresponding period, while revenue jumped to RM404.19mil from
RM204.65mil previously.
The improved earnings was due to higher revenue contribution by all the business units.
MRCB tipped for Bukit Jalil job
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