PENANG, April 29 — The ambitious Penang Global City Centre (PGCC) project looks to be dead in the water – not because of opposition from the state government but because a major property player looking to take a major stake in Equine Capital does not appear interested in pursuing the project.
The Malaysian Insider understands that this listed property company with developments in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor and Malacca has sent its officials to conduct a due diligence of Equine’s projects in the Klang Valley and Penang. They believe that there is value in the company’s land bank and housing projects in the Klang Valley and Batu Kawan but after having discussions with Penang Turf Club officials, they seem less interested in this massive project.
This is not surprising given the behind the scenes tussle going in the turf club over the PGCC. Some club members led by Tan Sri Tan Kok Ping are protesting the decision by the club’s committee to enter into the agreement with Datuk Patrick Lim and Abad Naluri to develop the choice piece of real estate.
They are arguing that the club committee did not get the agreement of the trustees before signing the agreement with Abad in 2004.
As part of the agreement, Abad Naluri agreed with the turf club to acquire the land in Batu Gantong for RM488 million. As part of the deal, the company was supposed to build a race course in Batu Kawan for RM375 million and hand it over to PTC by 2007. The balance would be paid in cash to the club.
But delays in obtaining approvals meant that the original time table could not be met. The defeat of the Barisan Nasional state government in Election 2008 and the misgiving the Opposition has over the viability of the PGCC project complicated matters for Lim.
After the polls, the turf club committee agreed to extend the deal for three more years. But now The Insider understands that Tan and other club members are thinking about lodging a police report against the club’s committee, arguing that it did not obtain the signature of trustees before entering into the agreement with Abad Naluri.
The dissenters know that if this becomes a police case, there is little chance of Lim and Abad Naluri moving ahead with their plans of a new racecourse in Batu Kawan and delivering their end of the bargain.
Some turf club members say that they want to develop the Batu Gantong land themselves. Equine Capital has a 25 per cent stake in Abad Naluri. Given all the legal issues and the opposition from chief minister Lim Guan Eng to the PGCC, the property giant looking to stake a major stake in Equine has indicated to turf club members that it is not keen in pursuing the project to build an iconic structure, high-end condominiums and hotels.
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