The two bidders that submitted proposals for the rehabilitation and development of the Jelutong dumpsite have sought to be allowed to reclaim additional land.

“The two companies — a Penang-based company and a Federal government-linked company — did not meet major requirements of the request for proposal (RFP), which were namely to rehabilitate the dumpsite, to develop it into something sustainable, and to propose a new site for the landfill.

“Instead of meeting the requirements set by landowner Penang Development Corpora-tion, they asked to be allowed to reclaim more land,” Jelutong MP Jeff Ooi told a press conference yesterday.

“One asked to reclaim a further 23.88ha while the other wanted 35.21ha in addition to the 21.44ha site,” he said.

“There is no basis to their request for that amount of land.”

Ooi said the two bidders should “tell us their plan for rehabilitation and the cost, and they must provide more justification for reclamation”.

“I oppose calling for a fresh tender as it could take a long period to complete the process.

“I apologise to the residents living near the dumpsite as they would still need to continue putting up with the site,” he said.

“PDC should get further clarification from the two bidders so they can come back with a new plan.

It was reported that an RFP was called from March 12, 2015 to September 14, 2015, to make the 21.44ha Jelutong landfill suitable for mixed development.

Source: TheStar.com.my

Setia Sky Ville, one of the most anticipated development by SP Setia in Jelutong. It is strategically located off Lorong Slim, just a short drive away from various high schools, namely Heng Ee secondary school, Penang Free School and Han Chiang College.

The proposed development features 550 condominiums of 1,036 sq ft to 1,424 sq ft, with an indicative price of RM750,000 onwards:

• Block 1A – 33-storey condominium (307 units)
• Block 1B – 33-storey condominium (243 units)
• Including 6 levels of multi-storey carpark and recreation area at level 7.

Future development (Phase 2):

• Block 2A – 34-storey condominium (269 units)
• Including 6 levels of multi-storey carpark and recreation area at level 7.

Project Name: (to be confirmed)
Location: Solok Slim, Jelutong, Penang
Property Type: Residential
Built-up Area: 1,036 sq.ft. – 1,424 sq.ft.
Indicative Price: RM750,000 (current phase)
Total Units: 550 (current phase), 269 (phase 2)
Developer: Kay Pride Sdn. Bhd. (SP Setia)

Location Map:

SITE PROGRESS

SITE PROGRESS: Setia Sky Ville (Nov 2020)

Progress update – Dec 2018 (by reader)

The Zen, mixed development by Asia Green at Bayan Mutiara. It is located next to Tun Dr. Lim Chong Eu Expressway, just a short drive away from the ongoing Penang World City township development by Tropicana Ivory.

This development will see the construction of a 46-storey skyscrapper with two residential towers, and shop offices located at lower level. Tower A will feature 1,200 affordable units with a standard built-up size of 850 sq.ft. whereas Tower B, also known as Zen 6, houses bigger open market units offering a more spacious layout of 1,050 sq.ft.

There are also 86 units of 2-storey shop offices to be located at the ground level.

Project Name : The Zen
Location : Bayan Mutiara, Penang
Property Type : Mixed development
Built-up Area: 850 sq.ft. onwards (residential)
Total Units: 1,200 (Tower A), 730 (Tower B), 86 (Shop offices)
Indicative Price : (to be confirmed)
Developer: Asia Green

Location Map:

Progress Update (November 2017)

Progress Update (September 2019)

SITE PROGRESS

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen & Zen 6 (Aug 2023)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen & Zen 6 (Mar 2023)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Dec 2022)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Oct 2022)

Asia Green’s The Zen expected to be ready early next year

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Dec 2021)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Aug 2021)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (March 2021)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Jun 2020)

SITE PROGRESS: The Zen (Sep 2019)

* UPDATE: The elevated expressway will open on April 6 @ 2PM *

The RM338mil Bayan Lepas Expressway (BLE) linked to the second Penang bridge is expected to be open on April 4.

Penang Federal Action Council chairman Datuk Seri Zainal Abidin Osman said work on the project was at its final phase and scheduled for completion by end of the month.

“Upon completion, the traffic woes along the stretch between Batu Maung and Queensbay Mall will definitely be eased.

“We expect more people touse the Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge, with an increase of about 20%.

“Previously, island-bound motorists said they would be caught in traffic jams afterexiting the bridge.

“I believe the expressway will solve the problem,” he told a press conference at the site office of UEM Builders Berhad in Bayan Lepas on Tuesday.

Besides the elevated 3.2km -long two-way, four-laned expressway, there is also astandard span and a special span measuring 3,161m and 390m in length respectively.

The second component is the upgrading of the existing road on the ground which is the 4.2km two-way, four-laned expressway.

There are three intersections along the route — Hilir Sungai Kluang 1, Lebuhraya Kampung Jawa and Jalan Kampung Jawa intersection.

Zainal said the BLE project was one of the four components under the RM810mil Sultan Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah Bridge’s traffic mitigation project.

He said other components were the upgrading of thestate road from Batu Maung to Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah andconstruction of a bridge across the Batu Maung junction-cum-roundabout at a cost of RM265mil.

“There is another component for upgrading work of thefederal road from Teluk Kumbar to Penang International Airport in Bayan Lepas which costs RM207mil,” he said, adding that the remaining phases were expected to be completed next year.

Construction of theexpressway began on April 1, 2014, with UEM Builders Berhad as the main contractor.

The entire expressway is set to be equipped with LED street lighting, drains, a bicycle lane, bicycle bridge and road dividers.

Also present were Jambatan Kedua Sdn Bhd managingdirector Datuk Dr Ismail Mohamad Taib and Public Works Department special project unit senior deputy chief director (northern region) Mohd Yusup Zahidin.

Source: TheStar.com.my

If the planned reverse takeover (RTO) of tile manufacturer Yi-Lai Bhd goes through, it would see the entry of one-up-and coming property developer from Penang, Aspen Vision Group and its co-founder Datuk M. Murly into the capital market.

Murly is becoming well known in property circles for his Aspen Group, which made the news two years ago when it inked a deal with IKEA franchisee Ikano Pte Ltd and the Penang Development Corp (PDC) to embark on a massive RM8bil property project in Batu Kawan, Penang called Aspen Vision City (AVC).

When contacted, Murly declined to comment, noting that the RTO negotiations with Yi-Lai were still ongoing.

The 30-year old Murly has been in the property market for more than 10 years.

He started his career with Ivory Properties Group Bhd at the age of 19 as a technical assistant. At the age of 25, he was promoted to be chief operating officer and executive director of Ivory.

He founded Aspen Group in 2013 with his partner Datuk Seri Nazir Ariff, who was formerly the deputy chairman and executive director of Ivory Properties.

On the AVC project, it is a 80:20 partnership between Aspen and Ikano on 245 acres of land in Batu Kawan, spanning over 10 years.

The property project will involve a 24-acre IKEA outlet, near the second Penang bridge, in the Seberang Prai side. The IKEA outlet is expected to be completed in 2018 and will be run and owned by Ikano.

Ikano is the owner and operator of the IKEA franchise holder in Singapore, Malaysia and Thailand.

The AVC project is part of the enlarged 6,000 acres Bandar Cassia, Batu Kawan’s township project under the Penang state government’s master plan.

There are other developers, such as Eco World Development Group Bhd, Belleview Group and Paramount Corp Bhd involved in the Batu Kawan development with PDC.

Aspen has other projects aside from the AVC. Earlier this year, the company launched RM1.4bil worth of property projects, namely the first phase of AVC project worth RM620mil, RM135mil mixed-development Beacon project in Sungai Pinang and the RM637mil HH Residence scheme in Tanjung Bungah.

Yet another project is the RM700mil Nouvelle Residence in Subang, which it plans to launch in 2017, made up of condominum units.

Prior listing plans in Singapore

Just months ago, Murly was quoted as saying that he was seeking to float Aspen on the Singapore Stock Exchange.

Banking sources say that this plan did not materialise, which explains the move to reverse Aspen into Yi-Lai.

According to sources, one of the reasons why Aspen didn’t proceed with the listing in Singapore was related to a ruling there that discourages the use of listing proceeds outside Singapore.

Bankers say that Aspen was also looking to apply for an initial public offering on Bursa Malaysia but decided on the RTO route instead.

In February, Yi-Lai announced the RTO plan by Aspen, in a deal worth RM550mil. In return for Aspen’s business, Yi Lai will issue RM450mil of new Yi-Lai shares at an issue price of RM1 each and RM100mil cash.

The price of the new share issuance represents a premium of 22.3% over the 5-day volume-weighted average market price of Yi Lai shares up to Feb 23.

Notably, Yi-Lai said the proposed acquisition would enable existing shareholders to participate in a “new, viable and profitable core business in property development” through the Aspen group.

“The diversification of the core business of Yi-Lai into property development will be a synergistic downstream fit for Yi-Lai’s existing tile manufacturing business,” it says.

Yi-Lai had entered into a heads of agreement (HoA) with Aspen and Setia Batu Kawan Sdn Bhd for the proposed acquisition.

Shares in Yi-Lai were last traded at RM1.02 a share, giving it a market capitalisation of RM161.5mil with forward price-earnings ratio of 14.57 times.

The company has no borrowings and is sitting on a net cash position of RM48mil as of fourth quarter Dec 31, 2015.

Yi-Lai said it would fund the Aspen acquisition via internal funds and bank borrowings.

The Penang connection

Interestingly, about 31% of Yi-Lai is owned by Aaron Tan, who is the nephew of Datuk Seri Robert Tan Chung Meng of the IGB Corp Bhd.

The 31-year old Aaron emerged in Yi-Lai in May 2014 after his vehicle Hampton Capital Pte Ltd bought the stake in Yi-Lai from the founding family at RM1.30 a share.

Tan, along with Singaporean Wendy Kang, have substantial shareholdings in Hampton Capital and thus indirectly hold 31% in Yi-Lai.

Following to the purchase, Aaron was appointed as executive director of Yi-Lai in June.

According to Yi-Lai’s filings, it has 90 days from the announcement date of Feb 26 to come up with the definitive agreement between the parties for the RTO exercise.

Source: TheStar.com.my