Selangor wants Tropicana to pay full amount
R Kamalavicini, FMT
KUALA LUMUR: The Selangor state government has demanded property developer Tropicana Corp Bhd settle in full RM844.2 million for the purchase of a 474.29ha piece of land, formerly known as Canal City, instead of 20 years later when it could be RM1.3 billion.
The piece of land is part of the 1,172-acre Tropicana Aman site that Tropicana acquired from the state government in April 2013, a deal which drew attention as it was concluded just before the last general election.
Selangor Mentri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said Mentri Besar Selangor Inc (MBI) wants the money now following Tropicana’s sale of part of the land.
“We made this decision following the announcement by Tropicana, who through its subsidiary Sapphire Index Sdn Bhd, sold 308.72 acres of land to Eco World via Prominent Stream Sdn Bhd for RM470.67 million.
“Since Tropicana had realised the land’s full potential from the sales, the state will do the same,” Abdul Khalid said in Shah Alam yesterday.
The sales and purchase agreement between Tropicana and Eco World Development involves 1,172 acres is targetted for completion by the second-half of 2014, with expected net gain of about RM170 million for the group.
The land was alienated to MBI, with Permodalan Negeri Selangor Bhd (PNSB) as project manager to handle future development.
From the total land space 424 acres are gazetted for roads and public utilities, leaving 748 acres for development.
“We hope that Tropicana will expedite the full payment so that we can then channel the RM844.2 million funds to implement various other property development and social programmes for the benefit of the people of Selangor,” he said.
