China’s CCCC to build tower in TRX

BEIJING: China Communications Construction Company Ltd (CCCC) intends to make Kuala Lumpur its hub for the Asean region as the port and construction group expands its footprint here.

“We will set up our regional centre in Kuala Lumpur,” CCCC vice-president Peng Dapeng told reporters at the group’s headquarters here.

He said the group was building the “CCCC tower”, a commercial building in the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

“We have acquired the land. We are in the midst of reviewing the project so details are scant now,” he said, without disclosing the gross development value and investment value.

“We will have our regional head office there for Asean and some portion of the tower will be rented out,” Peng said.

He added that the group currently had eight regional hubs globally.

“Malaysia is very important to us. As you can see, the contract value we have in Malaysia is the highest among other Asean countries. Currently, we have more than US$16bil (RM67.27bil) worth of on-going contracts in hand.

“We believe this number will be bigger in the future,” he added.

It was previously reported that WCT Holdings Bhd said it would be undertaking a proposed joint venture (JV) with CCCG Overseas Real Estate (CORE) and CCCC to develop a plot of land measuring 1.65 acres in TRX.

WCT, CORE and CCCC will own 20%, 65% and 15% equity interests in the JV, respectively. CORE and CCCC will pay RM200mil to WCT, the owner of the land.

WCT acquired the land in October 2015 for RM223mil. Only 10% was in cash while the rest was in lieu of payment for construction and infrastructure works done in TRX.

Asked about the latest progress of the East Coast Rail Link, Peng said the group hopes to start construction within this year.

“The first section to be started is a tunnel near Genting Highlands. We are in the midst of getting approvals from the local authorities and preparing for the land acquisition process,” he said.

“Once we get approval from the local authorities, we hope the construction work can start within this year,” he said.

Peng added that the group was busy mobilising all of the equipment to Malaysia.

The RM55bil infrastructure project is China’s largest overseas project under construction and by far the largest single project under China’s Belt & Road Initiative.

CCCC is the world’s largest port design and construction company principally engaged in the design and construction of transport infrastructure, dredging and heavy machinery manufacturing.

It is the world’s largest highway and bridge design and construction company and also the largest container crane manufacturer.