Scrapping of HSR has little impact on property dev in Iskandar Puteri

PETALING JAYA: The cancellation of the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR) project will have a minimal impact on property development in Iskandar Puteri, Johor in the medium term, as it was only a plus point to upcoming projects in the region.
UEM Sunrise Bhd Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Anwar Syahrin Abdul Ajib, said the region was close enough to Singapore, adding that there was already a second link connecting Malaysia and Singapore.
"There are other plus points such as Nusajaya Tech Park, Puteri Harbour, FASTrack City, Legoland and many more.
"However, in the long run, we need to find another catalyst as there is a need for greater connectivity," he told reporters after the company's 10th annual general meeting (AGM) here, today.
Anwar said the take up rate for Iskandar Puteri's mixed development projects, Bayu Nusantara and Denai Nusantara, comprising 10,000 units of affordable housing, had been positive.
"The cancellation of the HSR project will have a minor impact on the take up rate, but we strongly believe that Iskandar Puteri will continue to be developed vibrantly, even without the HSR," he said.
Meanwhile, Anwar said that the masterplan for the Transit Oriented Development (TOD) project in Iskandar Puteri would be put on hold pending a study on the impact of the HSR cancellation.
According to UEM Sunrise's 2017 annual report, the detailed masterplan of the TOD project, which involved 121.4 ha, was supposed to be revealed by the second half of this year.
Under the plan, 28.32 ha would be allocated for the HSR station in Gerbang Nusajaya.
The remaining lands will be developed into mixed residential and commercial developments via a joint venture with Leisure Farm Corporation Sdn Bhd.
The gross development value for Gerbang Nusajaya, the new township developed by UEM Sunrise, stood at about RM45 billion.
The 330-km HSR project, announced in 2010, was dubbed as a game changer by both Malaysia and Singapore leadership, and was expected to cut time travel to just 90 minutes from five hours by road.
However, on May 28, Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad announced that the project would be scrapped, saying that it would not benefit Malaysia. — Bernama