UEM Sunrise seeks new bright spots to lift Gerbang Nusajaya project
PETALING JAYA: UEM Sunrise Bhd will be looking at other “catalysts” for its Gerbang Nusajaya project following the axing of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore highspeed rail (HSR) project.
The Gerbang Nusajaya project is supposed to house the Iskandar Puteri HSR station.
Managing director and chief executive officer Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib said the transitoriented development and the station would be put on hold.
“We had allocated about 28ha for the station and 121ha for development around the transit hub. Without the HSR station, we have to look at other viable options.
“I am sure we can come up with something. We will also look at improving connectivity with Singapore,” he said after UEM Sunrise’s annual general meeting, here, yesterday.
Anwar said the project would see minimal impact in the medium term but UEM would have to get more clarity before an alternative could be decided.
The HSR project, touted as a “game changer”, was expected create about 77,000 jobs and expand property developments.
Anwar said as far as the company was concerned, it was business as usual at Gerbang Nusajaya.
“We have connectivity via the Second Link and it is close enough, so the target segment is the same. We feel there are a lot of opportunities with or without the HSR station. We will carry out further studies on the impact in the long term. We can’t say at this point yet what the full impact is going to be.”
Despite a challenging property environment last year, UEM Sunrise recorded its highest revenue of RM2.9 billion since its listing in 2008, while doubling its net profit to RM281.1 million from RM147.3 million previously.
It also exceeded its sales target of RM1.2 billion by 24 per cent, to almost RM1.5 billion.
Anwar said it was expecting a tough outlook and a cautious sentiment was anticipated.
“The demand is still there and mid-market property will be Malaysians’ favourite, especially in the Klang Valley and Johor,” he added.