UDA to submit Pudu Jail master plan by year-end

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 11): UDA Holdings Bhd will submit the master plan for the redevelopment of the former Pudu jail site to the Finance Ministry by year-end, said group managing director Ahmad Abu Bakar.

He said it will be up to the government to decide on the plan.

"We will submit it to the ministry and let it decide," he told reporters on the sidelines of UDA's Hari Raya Aidilfitri Open House on Monday.

Ahmad said the ministry after deliberation will decide whether the development will be executed via a special-purpose vehicle.

Last year, the government directed UDA to redraw the master plan to enable the participation of more bumiputeras in the real estate sector in Malaysia.

On the development of Bukit Bintang Plaza, Ahmad said, UDA is still awaiting the feasibility study by Tradewinds Corp Bhd.

"The study is scheduled to end by November this year," he said.

Ahmad said UDA has set aside RM50 million to refurbish some of its complexes.

"Some of them are old. So we need to start refurbishing them from the washrooms to the exterior," Ahmad said.

UDA owns some of the well-known complexes in the Klang Valley such as the Bukit Bintang Plaza, Pertama Complex, Plaza Warisan, Cahaya Suria, Pudu Sentral and Hentian Duta.

It also owns Plaza Angsana and Plaza Ampangan Seremban in the southern region and Greentown Mall phase 1 in the north. — Bernama