Transport Minister: Rail land projects worth millions under review

KAJANG: A review will be carried out on proposals to develop three plots of prime land in Kuala Lumpur worth hundreds of millions ringgit, says Transport Minister Anthony Loke Siew Fook.

“We will review proposals to develop prime land belonging to Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) in Pudu, Batu Tiga and Bangsar, which were done through direct negotiations.

“The previous government had agreed in principle for the proposals but no terms of agreement were signed with the private developers,” he told reporters after a working visit to the RAC office here Monday (June 25).

He said the plots of land in question – 2.83ha in Pudu, 1.21ha in Batu Tiga, and 5.66ha in Bangsar – would now be developed through open tenders.

Loke added that RAC would no longer enter into direct negotiations with private developers to develop its land assets, but will adopt an open tender system.

“I have requested that RAC provide me a full list of its assets which I will table in Cabinet next week,” he said.

Currently, RAC has 12,833ha of land, said Loke.

“Of this total, 3,720ha are with title and could be developed while 9,113ha is reserve land,” he added.

Loke said RAC had land and assets worth RM34.5bil based on a valuation done in 2005.

“We hope to develop RAC assets to maximise and optimise its returns which could be used to improve rail services,” he said.

Loke said his ministry is also looking into identifying the functions of RAC and Keretapi Tanah Melayu Berhad, where currently there is some overlap.

“For example, RAC will handle all rail assets including the stations while KTM focuses on rail services,” he said.

He assured the 88 RAC and 5,700 KTM staff that consultations will be held with their respective unions to ensure their welfare is safeguarded in the event of any changes.