PETALING JAYA (Jan 21): Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (KL:MRCB) is said to have won the bid for the Ipoh Railway Station Integrated Development Plan (iRide) project, which will be inked on Thursday (Jan 23) in Ipoh, Perak, according to sources.
There were two consortiums shortlisted by the Railway Assets Corporation (RAC) to develop iRide, Transport Minister Anthony Loke was reported saying in September last year. The iRide project, which is based on the transit-oriented development (TOD) concept, will see the development of almost 70 acres of RAC land behind Ipoh Railway Station, which will be rebranded as Ipoh Sentral.
The development will include affordable housing, hotel, commercial, green spaces, and educational institutions.
“MRCB is always in the picture when it comes to TODs and they are also involved in Penang Sentral. With Employees Provident Fund (EPF) as the major shareholder and its proven track record, it will always be a preferred choice,” another source told The Edge.
In November 2018, MRCB soft opened Penang Sentral in Butterworth, and according to its statement, is the main TOD for the State of Penang, Greater George Town and the Northern Corridor with a total gross development value (GDV) of RM2.9 billion.
MRCB is also redeveloping KL Sentral, which was reported to cost over RM1 billion, and to be borne by MRCB under the public-private partnership unit under the Prime Minister’s Department.
MRCB was the master developer of KL Sentral, Malaysia’s largest transit hub comprising over 72 acres. The station opened in 2001 with a capacity of 100,000 passengers daily but now handles some 200,000 passengers daily.
Other TOD developments by MRCB include PJ Sentral and Kwasa Sentral.
On Dec 18, MRCB had withdrawn from the Berjaya-led consortium competing for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (KL-SG HSR) to “pursue other strategic opportunities”. The consortium included Berjaya Rail Sdn Bhd, Keretapi Tanah Melayu, IJM Corp Bhd (KL:IJM), and its technical partners including Deutsche Bahn, Hitachi Rail and Hyundai Rotem.
The EPF is the largest shareholder of MRCB (36.21%), followed by Gapurna Sdn Bhd (15.48%) and Lembaga Tabung Haji (5.35%).