PKA sues Kuala Dimensi for RM720mil
(Malaysian Mirror) – SHAH ALAM – Port Klang Authority, the overseer for the controversial Port Klang Free Zone project, has filed a lawsuit against main contractor Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd seeking a refund of as much as RM720 million for wrongful computation of interest.
In a statement issued on Friday, PKA chairman Lee Hwa Beng said KDSB had sold the land to his agency for RM1.088 billion or RM25 per square foot at “special value basis”.
“The special valuation of RM25 per square foot had taken into consideration the interest element. Interest ought not to have been charged separately and or in addition to the said RM25 per square foot,” said Hwa Beng.
“PKA is therefore also seeking for rectification of the computation of the schedule of payment of the balance purchase price to exclude interest and a refund from KDSB of the interest payment made by PKA thus far.”
He added that even should the court allow KDSB to include interest, it had been computed on the wrong basis and the existing schedule of payment for the balance purchase price would still require rectification.
More lawsuits on the way
Hwa Beng also warned that further lawsuits could be in the offing. PKFZ is an integrated 1,000 acre commercial and industrial zone located adjacent to the national gateway and transhipment hub in Port Klang.
It is the government’s largest port investment ever. However due to massive cost overruns that independent auditors have blamed on weak governance and questionable practice, the original RM1.8 billion development cost has ballooned to RM4.6 billion and could hit RM12.5 billion if funding undertaken for the project is not revamped soon.
