KWAP MAY INVEST IN MVV ON PROJECT-BY-PROJECT BASIS
Firm will be happy to evaluate proposal by Sime Property, says CEO
RETIREMENT Fund Inc (KWAP) may consider investing in the Malaysia Vision Valley (MVV) project but not as a member of the consortium that spearheads the 153,375ha development.
Chief executive officer Datuk Wan Kamaruzaman Wan Ahmad said its involvement in the largescale project could only be on a project-by-project basis.
He was responding to reports that Sime Darby Property Bhd (Sime Property) would develop the MVV project alone following the lapse of an initial deal with KWAP and Brunsfield Group.
“The news report is true that we are not renewing the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Sime Property to become an equity partner of the project holding company.
“However, we may consider investing on a project basis. If they send us the proposal, we would be happy to evaluate,” he told NST Business.
The MoU between Sime Property, Brunsfield Development Sdn Bhd and KWAP lapsed in November last year.
In the last few months, Sime Property said it had engaged with the state and federal governments to decide on the future of MVV.
Sime Property managing director Datuk Seri Amrin Awaluddin said it was seeking fresh approvals on the MVV as the publicprivate initiative with KWAP and Brunsfield had lapsed.
However, a new development suggested that the early partners had no intention to renew the MoU, according to a daily which cited sources.
“All the parties mutually agreed not to extent the MoU. Subsequently, Sime Property decided to go it alone in developing the massive project by stages to take advantage of the development shift south of Kuala Lumpur,” one of the sources was quoted as saying.
“KWAP is not keen on being part of the master developer team to drive the project. It is too large for an entity such as KWAP,” said another source.
The MVV project is expected to attract about RM290 billion investments over 30 years and create 1.38 million jobs. It covers an area from Sepang in Selangor to Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan