UEM Sunrise, Mulpha in JV to build roads in Iskandar Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: UEM Sunrise Bhd and Mulpha International Bhd have formed a joint venture for three road projects in the vicinity of Iskandar Malaysia valued at RM107mil.

UEM Sunrise subsidiary Nusajaya Rise Sdn Bhd (NRSB) will own 59% stake in the venture while Mulpha International unit Leisure Farm Corp Sdn Bhd (LFC) will hold the balance stake. It is the developers’ first joint venture.

In a joint statement yesterday, the companies said they would build and upgrade roads in Gelang Patah and Gerbang Nusajaya.

UEM Sunrise executive director Datuk Izzaddin Idris said that under the original plan for the Gerbang Nusajaya development, NRSB was to construct and/or upgrade all roads in the vicinity of its development as a condition to obtain local government approvals for the development.

LFC, in the meantime, had obtained approvals from the local authority to build three interchange roads to better serve the needs of the Leisure Farm Resort community.

“However, in view of the proximity of NRSB’s interchange road to that of LFC’s, NRSB proposed to LFC that we enter into a collaboration agreement to carry out the construction of the common roads, so as to jointly meet the needs of our respective communities,” Izzaddin said.

Mulpha International executive chairman Lee Seng Huang said the collaboration was set to create a direct link from Gerbang Nusajaya and Leisure Farm Resort to the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link (Linkedua).

“For the many commuters in the vicinity of Gerbang Nusajaya and Leisure Farm Resort who travel to Singapore – this highway interchange project will significantly cut the travel time to and from Linkedua, from the current 15 minutes to just five minutes,” he said. “For owners and investors of real estate in the area as well as Leisure Farm, it will mean greater capital gains and value appreciation.”

“As a pioneer in Iskandar Malaysia, I recall that when Leisure Farm Resort was launched in 1991, the bungalow land was transacting at RM6 to RM9 per sq ft; today, the same lots are exchanging for 20 times that value, reaching almost RM200 per sq ft. With this new interchange, prices should continue to set new records,” Lee said. The projects are expected to be completed in phases by December 2018.