Iskandar Investment to award RM2bil projects

Developer hopes to finalise three more partnerships by year-end

KUALA LUMPUR: Iskandar Investment Bhd (IIB), the catalytic developer of Iskandar Malaysia, will award RM2bil worth of projects over the next 12 months, says president and chief executive officer Arlida Ariff.

The tenders, she said, would comprise projects under the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), of which RM1bil had been allocated, and those investment committed by IIB.

“The tenders to be awarded under the 9MP allocations are mainly infrastructure projects.

“Meanwhile, 80% of the investment committed by IIB will be for infrastructure and the balance for mixed development,” Arlida told a briefing on the sidelines of the Forbes Global CEO Conference yesterday.

She said the tenders would involve infrastucture in Medini and EduCity as well as accommodation units for students at Newcastle University Medicine Malaysia.

Arlida said the duration of contracts ranged from six to 24 months, depending on the job scope.

Asked if IIB had identified any contractors, she said the company had since 2007 relied on a list of registered qualified contractors. Currently, it has about 1,000 names on that list.

“We don’t negotiate directly with contractors. We tender all our projects,” she said, adding that tenders would be limited to contractors registered with IIB.

To date, IIB has awarded about RM1bil worth of works for the development of Iskandar Malaysia.

IIB, an investment holding company which works closely with the Iskandar Regional Development Authority, now owns 2% of the Iskandar region covering 2,200 sq km. Arlida said Iskandar had to date attracted US$13bil (about RM46bil) worth of investments.

IIB also expects to generate RM1bil worth of investments from the spillover of Legoland Malaysia, which has two hotels, one retail mall and an office building on a 45-acre site.

Currently, the company is in talks with potential partners.

“We hope to announce three more partners by the end of this year,” she said, adding that IIB would be busy over the new few months visiting and talking to potential investors.