BRDB in tie-up to expand presence in Nusajaya

KUALA LUMPUR: Bandar Raya Developments Bhd (BRDB), which recently signed supplemental agreements with UEM Land Bhd, the master developer of Nusajaya, to buy a 60% stake in a special-purpose vehicle used for the development of Residential North in Puteri Harbour, is planning to expand its presence in the township.

The project, on a 111-acre freehold parcel, would be launched in the third quarter of next year and would be completed in six phases over seven years. The expected gross development value (GDV) for the project is RM2.3bil.

BRDB chief executive officer Datuk Jagan Sabapathy said the partnership with UEM Land was just the first step in a strategy to grow the company’s presence in Nusajaya, the flagship township of the special economic zone of Iskandar Malaysia in Johor.

The signing of the agreements was a follow-up to the July announcement by BRDB of the acquisition of the stake in Haute Property Sdn Bhd, the special-purpose vehicle set up for the Residential North project, from Dubai World, the emirate of Dubai’s flagship investment arm.

BRDB paid RM75mil for the stake and would be advancing a further RM70mil to Haute Property for the developmental rights to the project after Dubai World pulled out as a result of the global financial crisis.

“We’re still looking at a couple more tie-ups within Nusajaya, we’re taking a longer-term view of the region and its prospects,” Jagan told StarBizWeek.

He added that besides Nusajaya, the company still had about 300 acres undeveloped in the 1,400-acre freehold Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, also in Johor, where it recently launched the 35-acre Straits Residences, a strata-titled landed project.

Jagan said among projects in the pipeline for the Klang Valley was a 25.25-acre freehold plot slated for commercial development in Subang Jaya next to the Federal Highway, which the company acquired for RM125.86mil in early 2008.

“The plans have been submitted to the relevant authorities and we’re also contemplating acquiring a neighbouring plot of land to build a railway stop for the project,” he said.

Besides Subang Jaya, he said other projects in the pipeline included the first phase of the Hartamas II condominiums located north of Mont Kiara which, according to earlier reports, could have a GDV of RM300mil next year.

As for its overseas ventures, Jagan said the company, in partnership with Defense Housing Authority of Lahore, had completed the first residential phase in the 400-acre Defense Raya together with the golf course.

“We’ve also launched smaller residential units but we feel that the situation in Pakistan has to settle down first,” he said, referring to the country’s volatile political situation.

By The Star (by Fintan Ng)