The proposed first phase of Sunway Valley City integrated development by Sunway Property at Paya Terubong in Penang Island. It is strategically located along Jalan Paya Terubong, about 8km to George Town and Bayan Lepas Free Industrial Zone.

The initial phase of this project will see the construction of a 24-storey commercial building, featuring 237 units of shop offices and 205 units of office suites. There will be 3 levels of car parking podium.

This project is still in its planning stage and pending approval. More details to be available upon official launch.

Project Name : (to be confirmed)
Location : Sunway Valley City, Paya Terubong
Property Type : Commercial
Total Units: 237 (shop offices), 205 (office suites)
Built-up Area: (to be confirmed)
Indicative Price: (to be confirmed)
Developer : Sunway City Sdn. Bhd. (Sunway Property)

– A letter from SRS Consortium to FMT

First, we would like to reiterate that for both the Penang Transport Master Plan (PTMP) and the Penang South Islands (PSI) reclamation projects, it is the state that is the asset owner.

As the asset owner, the state has to “take into consideration the need to adequately fund the PTMP and reclamation costs” and “consider the matching of supply of these lands to balance with demand from the market”.

This statement clearly highlights that under the project delivery partner model of the RFP, the state is indeed the ultimate funder of both the PTMP and the PSI projects, and apart from assuming all the financing risks, it also has to contend with the full assumption of market risks in selling reclaimed land real estate.

Upon the formation of the Pakatan Harapan federal government in 2018, the state had a renewed belief that it would be able to obtain federal government allocations and/or loan guarantees to fund its PTMP components, just like how other states had similarly benefitted for their own transport infrastructure.

For example, the LRT systems within Selangor’s borders and the Pan-Borneo highways in Sabah and Sarawak.

Subsequently, in early March 2020, the RM10 billion loan guarantee that was promised for the state’s LRT was withdrawn.

Nonetheless, the state still took the view that:

• It would pursue with the federal government for the LRT loan guarantee to be reinstated given that it is purely a development expenditure for social needs of its rakyat; AND
• The reclamation of the first island of PSI (Island A) must proceed forthwith to provide a pivotal addition and extension to the state’s E&E hub in Bayan Lepas, and attract E&E foreign investors – in doing so, there would be an influx of foreign direct investments (FDI) and tremendous job creation for Penangites, especially among the highly skilled.

To achieve the second objective of kick-starting the PSI Island A reclamation as a major economic impetus for Penang state, especially as a post-pandemic economic stimulus, it was agreed that a joint venture be formed between SRS and Penang Infrastructure Corporation (wholly owned by the Penang state government) to enable SRS to fully fund the Island A development, while the state is absolved of all financing risks and costs of Island A’s development.

Even though the state has fully absolved itself of all risks, it still retains a substantial stake of 30% to reap in any rewards or profits from the Island A development.

Not to mention, the state can wield substantial influence of control via its 30% stake and its authority over all land matters, to ensure its socio-economic and land planning objectives are all met, for the people of Penang.

For federal projects, typically any privateer would reap 100% of the reward, given it would absorb 100% of the risks. For independent power producers, or highway concessions or developments, this is the underlying prevailing equitable rule.

Yet, the Penang state has clearly done one better here for itself.

Under this 70:30 joint venture arrangement, the state insisted on an enterprise, not only with a strong enough balance sheet to fully shoulder the funding liability of RM4 billion to deliver Island A, but also with the requisite track record of delivery of large infrastructure projects, on time and on budget, all the time.

Furthermore, the same enterprise is also responsible for delivering Phase 1 of the reclamation.

This will ensure that the project gets delivered and Penang benefits from the ensuing FDI, estimated at over RM70 billion and the ensuing GDP contribution and job creation is estimated to be RM100 billion and more than 300,000 jobs, respectively, where at least half are knowledge-based and highly-skilled jobs, over a 30-year development time frame for the three PSI islands.

And to ensure the delivery of the lands is done on the most cost-efficient basis, the state had also insisted on the appointment of an independent checking engineer, to oversee that cost estimates and work programmes are reasonable, fair and equitable.

Thus, there is clearly no double dipping or leveraging off the state in any way.

Source: FreeMalaysiaToday.com

The notorious COVID-19 has robbed the life of yet another prominent individual in the Malaysian property circle.

Paramount Corp Bhd chairman and executive director Datuk Teo Chiang Quan, 72, passed away at 6.38pm two days ago due to health complications after battling COVID-19 for 21 days.

“It is with profound sadness that Paramount Corp Bhd announces that Datuk Teo Chiang Quan passed away this evening (May 24, 2021) due to complications from an unexpected illness,” read a media statement from Paramount last tonight.

Over and above being an astute businessman and property developer, Teo can be described as a nation-builder, described Paramount Corp of Teo.

Starting his career in Malaysian Rice Mills (MRI) in 1976, which was renamed to Paramount Corp Bhd in 1980, Teo has shaped Paramount into a public-listed company that focuses on property, coworking, education, F&B and office solutions provider business.

According to Paramount Corp’s director profile, Teo joined the board of Paramount on Jan 19, 1977 and has been active in the management of Paramount Corp since 1981 when he first served as the principal officer of the group’s insurance division.

Over 29 years, Teo had held the positions of group managing director & group CEO), deputy chairman prior to assuming the company’s chairmanship on June 8, 2015.

During that period, he had been instrumental in shaping Paramount into a reputable and financially-sound by guiding the management in the formulation of the group’s long-term strategic plans, particularly in land banking, and ensuring effective communications with stakeholders.

He was also a firm proponent of Paramount’s core values encapsulated in T.R.I.B.E (Trust, Respect, Integrity, Bravery and Energy) and was highly committed to ensuring the delivery of meaningful and sustainable outcomes for all stakeholders.

He was named as “FIABCI Malaysia Property Man of 2019” at the FIABCI Malaysia Property Award 2019 for his contributions to the property industry over the years.

His son, Benjamin Teo Jong Hian, is an executive director of Paramount Corp.

Source: FocusMalaysia.my

About Beacon Executive Suites

the latest addition to landmarks in the heart of George Town by Aspen Group. Strategically located along Jalan Sungai Pinang, this freehold development comprises 227 units of executive suites with standard unit size of 980 sq.ft. and a state of art roof top bar & lounge.

Find out more about Beacon Executive Suites

The Penang government has provided low-cost, low medium-cost and affordable homes to nearly 7,000 frontliners, including civil servants, since 2008.

State Local Government, Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh said the state would continue to provide these homes to lower-income group even when the Covid-19 pandemic is still raging.

“We want to ensure that those who are eligible are only selected. We give priority to the frontliners, including all our civil servants, who are exposed to so much risk. In all, 6,695 frontliners have received the units.

“Business must go on; people need roofs over their heads. This morning, we continue with our work to select 1,000 individuals for these homes,” Jagdeep told a press conference via Zoom from Komtar today.

He said Penang has set a target of building 200,000 such units by 2030 and has so far achieved 53.2% or 117,049 units (that have been built, in the process of being built and approved to be built).

Commenting on the 80% government servants to work from home (WFH) under the tightened standard operating procedures (SOPs), Jagdeep said the instruction was not a green light to relax at home because “we have a lot of services to be delivered.”

He reiterated that discipline in observing the SOPs was the key to overcoming the Covid-19.

In addition, he also encouraged the public to register for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme.

To underline the seriousness of the Covid-19 situation, Jagdeep said the country registered a record 6,976 cases while Penang reported 372 cases yesterday, its second highest after registering 395 cases on May 13.

“As the number of Covid-19 cases rises, all of us should rise and step up our fight against the virus,” said Jagdeep, adding that both the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and the Seberang Perai City Council (MBSP) have been instructed to up the ante in the Covid-19 fight.

Thus far, he said the two local authorities have conducted a total of 1.88 million checks on premises on both island and mainland and found the SOP compliance rate to be above 99 per cent.

He said while the Federal Government has urged the people to practise self-lockdown rather than a total lockdown to balance lives and livelihoods, he has called on MBPP and MBSP not to compromise on SOP adherence.

Source: Buletin Mutiara