Polish embassy invites bids for KL land

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 4): The Embassy of the Republic of Poland is inviting bids for two contiguous parcels of land measuring 16,500 sq ft in Ampang Hilir here. It is asking for no less than RM11.4 million for the land.

The sale, if it materialises, will make Poland the fourth European nation to divest its asset here in recent years.

The two parcels, registered under The State Treasury of the Government of the Republic of Poland, are located in Jalan Ru, Desa Pahlawan in Ampang.

The larger of the two plots measures 1,477.05 sq m, or 15,899 sq ft and the smaller plot 55.89 sq m or 601.59 sq ft.

At that price, the two contiguous parcels are valued at around RM690 per sq ft.

An advertisement, which appeared over the weekend, shows that Savills (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd has been hired as the exclusive agent to conduct the sale.

When contacted, an official from Savills declined to comment.

Three other foreign governments in Malaysia have sold off their land in the past few years.

In May 2015, the French government sold the French Embassy land to Putrajaya Ventures Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd. The 3.19-hectare (ha) land, located in Jalan Ampang, was sold for RM894 million.

At around the same time, the German government sold a parcel in Jalan Langgak Golf – Goethe-Institute — measuring 16.695 sq ft. The land was sold to Cocos Sdn Bhd for RM30 million. Cocos is owned by Tan Sri Dr Ninian Mogan Lourdenadin and his wife Puan Sri Matrona D’Cruz Tharsis D’Cruz.

Dr Ninian runs MBF Holdings Bhd.

In the same year, the German government also sold the German Ambassador’s residence measuring 81,288 sq ft in Jalan Kia Peng for RM259.16 million to Malaysian Resources Corporation Bhd (MRCB). MRCB in March this year sold the Jalan Kia Peng plot to the Social Security Organisation for RM323 million after obtaining a development order for the site.

Another parcel sold by a foreign government is the former British High Commission land in Jalan Ampang. The 1.2ha, located just 23m away from the French Embassy land, was sold in late 2012 to S P Setia Bhd.

Both S P Setia and Putrajaya Ventures have initiated work on the sites they acquired and have submitted development proposals to Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur.

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on Sept 4, 2018.

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