Projects on RAC land to be reviewed
Loke: No more direct negotiations in future
KAJANG: Approved proposed development projects on prime land belonging to Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) worth hundreds of millions of ringgit will be reviewed, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke.
He said the review would initially involve three plots of land in Kuala Lumpur – 2.83ha in Pudu, 1.21ha in Batu Tiga and 5.66ha in Bangsar – which have been earmarked for development by the previous government.
“We will review the proposals which were done through direct negotiations.
“The previous government had agreed in principle to the proposals but no terms of agreement were signed with the private developers,” Loke told reporters after a visit to the RAC office here yesterday.
He said all future development projects involving RAC’s land would no longer be done through direct negotiation but by open tender.
“This will allow developers who are keen to develop RAC land to make proposals through open tender bidding,” he said.
The minister said he had asked RAC to provide him with a full list of its assets, which were worth RM34.5bil based on a valuation done in 2005.
“I will table it in the Cabinet next week. We hope to develop RAC assets to maximise and optimise its returns which could be used to improve rail services,” he said.
RAC has a land bank of 12,833ha, of which 3,720ha can be developed while 9,113ha consists of reserve land.
Loke said the ministry was also looking into identifying the functions of RAC and KTM Bhd, adding that there was some overlap now.
“For example, we are looking at division of responsibilities where RAC will handle all rail assets including the stations, with KTM focusing on rail services,” he said.
Loke assured the 88 RAC and 5,700 KTM workers that consultations will be held with their respective unions to ensure their interest was protected in the event of changes.