MP questions NAZA development project

KUALA LUMPUR: Bukit Bendera member of parliament Liew Chin Tong questioned the government’s privatisation deal with Naza TTDI Sdn Bhd involving a mixed development project on 65 acres of land in Jalan Duta, Kuala Lumpur.

The DAP politician called the project "a bad deal for the rakyat" during a press conference at the parliament lobby on Nov 19.

Naza TTDI subsidiary TTDI KL Metropolis Sdn Bhd will develop the Matrade Centre, which will be the country’s largest exhibition and convention centre, at a cost of RM628 million on a 13.1-acre site, said Naza TTDI chairman SM Nasarudin SM Nasimuddin.

Basing his figures on the approximate RM226 per square foot reported in The Star — derived from dividing the cost of the exhibition centre with the size of the land — Liew questioned the absence of an open tender for the project.

Liew also asked if another exhibition centre was necessary as he claimed the existing Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC) is "underutilised".

The PICC was built at a cost of RM600 million, according to Liew.

Naza TTDI’s mixed development will include residences, offices, a shopping mall and a hotel.

The gross development value (GDV) of the whole project will be RM15 billion over a period of 10 years