Three Bio Desaru projects inactive for seven years

JOHOR BARU: Three development projects on a 2,100 acre site in Bio Desaru, with contracts signed between 2007 and 2014, were found to be inactive, according to the AuditorGeneral’s Report 2016 Series 2.

Bio Desaru, an organic food valley on over 8,912.5 acres in the subdistricts of Sedili Kechil and Pantai Timur, near Kota Tinggi here, was developed by Bio Desaru Sdn Bhd.

The report said six out of nine develop- ment projects, under business cooperation, signed between 2008 and 2014 showed progress of less than 60% of the total area agreed upon.

“Performance of lease development has reached 74.3% out of the 1,457 acres signed with investors, while the performance of joint-venture development was only 69.7% from the total 1,818 acres signed with investors,” said the report.

The report said the financial performance and governance audit, conducted between May and July, were satisfactory as Bio Desaru posted profit for 2014 to 2016 and had positive cash flows.

Bio Desaru’s management of development activities is deemed satisfactory as 4,694 acres of 7,927.5 acres are in operation and have active investors.

The report proposed for the company to provide a plan of action for joint-venture projects that were delayed in their development.

The company was also told to improve the level of evaluation on investor proposal papers to ensure the projects could be implemented.

Bio Desaru is a subsidiary of JBiotech Holdings Sdn Bhd, which is wholly owned by Johor Biotechnology and Biodiversity Corporation. — Bernama