Finance Ministry to pump additional RM2.8b into TRX project

PUTRAJAYA: The Finance Ministry will inject an additional RM2.8 billion to fund the completion of Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).
Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng said the funds will be used to complete all the necessary infrastructure works in TRX as TRX City Sdn Bhd (TRXC) does not have the funds to complete the project.
TRXC, formerly known as 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Finance Ministry. The company had sought financial assistance from the government.
"The alternative of not coming up with a funding of RM2.8 billion and not completing the project, is to pay RM3.51 billion in compensation claims, as well as an eyesore of an abandoned mega project in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
"In that event, apart from having to pay compensation of RM3.51 billion, the government will also lose the RM3.7 billion transferred earlier to TRXC," Lim told reporters today.
He said the ministry, under the previous administration, had provided RM3.7 billion worth of funds for the TRX project, in the form of guaranteed borrowings, extended advances and transfers as well as land purchase from TRXC.
However, about RM3 billion of the RM3.7 billion were misappropriated by 1MDB, mainly for 1MDB loan repayments.
The additional funding of RM2.8 billion brings the total funding by the government to RM6.5 billion. The RM2.8 billion will be disbursed in stages up till 2024.