EPF to allot projects in Sungai Buloh by June

By Zaidi Isham Ismail

THE Employees Provident Fund (EPF), which is charged to lead the development of the proposed prime township sited at Rubber Research Institute of Malaysia (RRIM) land in Sungai Buloh, Selangor, is expected to start distributing portions of the long-awaited project by June.

EPF chief executive officer Tan Sri Azlan Zainol said it will start calling for tenders, which are open to all strong property developers in the country to participate in.

"The project is going through some legal issues and then it will go through the bidding process.

"The development will be spread out over several phases and each phase will be around 12.15ha-20.25ha portions for the development of projects from commercial, residential, industrial, affordable housing and shophouses," he told Business Times in an interview at EPF's headquarters here recently.
Previously managed by RRIM, the 1,215ha land was slated for development over the next 10-15 years, as announced in the 2010 Budget , but until now the project has not taken off.

On May 12, 2010, the government had approved the proposal for the development of the Sungai Buloh land by Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the EPF.

The EPF will have a master plan where it will allocate a few parcels and allow property developers to bid for those parcels, of which some parcels will be operated on a joint-venture basis while others may be sold outright via bids.

The development is likely to feature a big linear park, green lungs, open spaces, walkways and water bodies.

It will incorporate information technology and data infrastructure (Multimedia Super Corridor city status) and urban transportation integration.

This development will also house the depot for the upcoming mass rapid transit system.

Dubbed the new hub of the Klang Valley, the development is expected to attract RM5 billion in investments.

http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/EPFLUH/Article/