Selangor Turf Club saga

By sheer numbers, the redevelopment of golf courses tend to be larger in quantity but the bigger redevelopments have taken place of land owned by horse racing clubs.

In this respect, the Petronas Twin Towers, located in the Kuala Lumpur City Centre (KLCC), was previously the Selangor Turf Club (STC) before it was taken over by billionaire T Ananda Krishnan.

STC, which was relocated to Sungai Besi from Jalan Ampang in 1994, is now owned by Berjaya Land Bhd unit Selat Makmur Sdn Bhd.

At present, moves to relocate the turf club are ongoing but Selat Makmur has yet to get the final nod from the state government to move the turf club to another location, which is in Bukit Tagar, as well as to carry out a mixed development project on the land.

In 2004, Selat Makmur signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with STC for the Sungei Besi land for RM640mil. The company beat 18 other developers in an open tender.

The SPA is to be satisfied by RM35mil cash and a new turf club on 750 acres of land in Bukit Tagar, which will triple its current size.

Due to the long delay, it was expected the construction cost of the new turf club would balloon to RM1bil from the RM605mil previously estimated.

A quick check from BLand’s latest annual report explains that STC and Selat Makmur have reached an agreement on the layout plans for the new turf club in Bukit Tagar.

It also says that STC has granted further extension to Jan 18 this year in consideration of RM3mil for Selat Makmur to fulfil the remaining conditions in pursuant to the proposed acquisition of the Sungai Besi land.

The details include renewal of consent to transfer the portion of Sungai Besi land to Selat Makmur, which had expired in 2006, approvals on the re-tabling of the amended master layout plan, which was re-submitted on Aug 19, 2008, and approvals pertaining to the construction on the new turf club.

Officials from BLand could not be contacted for comment at the press time.

According to BLand’s 2012 annual report, the group says it had incurred and committed a total expenditure of about RM321mil to the proposals.

The amount comprises RM6.5mil for the design and profession consultancy fees, RM70mil for Bukit Tagar interchange and toll plaza, RM4mil for the relocation of power transmission line, RM196mil for the purchase of the land and RM44.9mil for the site clearance and earthworks.

On top of the long awaited approvals, BLand also faces another hurdle as three STC members have slapped a court case against the club’s officials last year.

It was understood that the court hearing is slated on April 22.

The case claims that the club’s officials had acted in breach of trust by not terminating the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) with Selat Makmur.

It was reported that STC has no plans to pull out of the deal, despite the delay in getting necessary approvals, and that the club has obtained the approval of members for the project.

BLand plans to carry out a mixed development project valued at RM6.3bil on the 244.79 acres land in Sungai Besi.

A source says that Berjaya Land is close to receiving the necessary approvals for the relocation of STC.

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