Last Tuesday, the Malaysian government announced that they reached an agreement via consortium to avail of the services of China Railway Engineering Corporation for a major land development project. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad then claimed that the project would add substantial value to Malaysia's economy.
According to China.org.cn, the Malaysian government signed an agreement to a consortium participated by Iskandar Waterfront Holdings (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corporation (CREC). The said consortium finalized a deal with TRX City which is a Malaysian state-owned subsidiary of the country's finance ministry.
The said agreement gave a 60 percent stake in Bandar, Malaysia in developing a future business district including a major transport hub of Kuala Lumpur. The report indicated that the joint statement of the parties confirmed that the major Chinese developer would work on a 486-acre site, the largest piece of development land in Malaysia's capital.
The said project was given an estimated gross development value of 140 billion ringgit or 33.8 billion USD. Following the finality of the agreement, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir manifested that the agreement signified deeper trade relations between Malaysia and China. He added that Malaysia had always enjoyed dealing with China and has been doing so for several years.
The Malaysian Prime Minister also highlighted that since 1974, China and Malaysia have proven that their projects have been mutually beneficial to each other and that their business ties grow stronger by the day.
The Chinese Ambassador to Malaysia Bai Tian added that the pragmatic business cooperation between China and Malaysia has indeed developed stronger trade ties between them. He claimed that the development of Bandar, Malaysia marks the start of further China-Malaysian projects and cooperation that would support their respective economies.
The Chinese Ambassador also added that both parties are hoping that the development project would be a good platform to improve China-Malaysia economic cooperation and that their relations would link Malaysia to the global market as well. He also added that Malaysia has been experiencing a higher level of economic and social development and that China's contribution to improving its urban development would benefit both countries in the long-run.
The President of China Railway Group Limited Chen Yun also added that the development project paves the way for a world-class central activity zone in Malaysia and promotes innovative and unique development integration of a transport-oriented development concept, reported The Star Online. He said that the CREC is set at creating the platform to improve the strategic cooperation and innovation exchange between countries. He also claimed that establishing the world-class central activity zone would aid Kuala Lumpur in becoming a global hub for cultures, data, enterprises, industries, finance, and transport.
