Questions over land swap in Selangor
By Terence Fernandez and Meena L. Ramadas, The Sun
SHAH ALAM (Feb 24, 2011): A land swap deal approved in 2004 by the Selangor state government has raised questions about its lopsidedness.
The Petaling Land Office in Subang Jaya, which sits on prime land, is moving to Sungai Buloh. Under the agreement, Syarikat Gapurna Builders Sdn Bhd will build the new land office complex at a cost of RM24.6 million.
In return, Syarikat Gapurna Builders will develop 3.04 acres (1.23ha) of the Petaling Land Office site in Jalan Kemajuan SS16/1, and 1.1 acres of the quarters along Jalan SS19/2, Subang Jaya.
Real estate valuers estimate the current value of the land office site at between RM350 and RM400 per sq ft (or RM46 million) and the quarters comprising semi-detached houses at around RM6 million.
The land was valued at between RM120 and RM200 per sq ft in 2004 while the new office, which sits on 11.1 acres, is valued at between RM15 and RM20 per sq ft or RM7.2 million.
However, the deal is worth a lot more to the developer as it is learnt that the commercial-cum-residential project planned for these areas have a gross development value of about RM180 million.
Mentri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said there was nothing that could be done to remedy the situation as the land transfer was done by the book.
"But this kind of arrangement is obviously against the interests of the people of Selangor," he told theSun yesterday.
He said as the Petaling Land Office sits on prime property, the state coffers could have greatly benefited if the land swap was done with the public interest at heart.
Asked if the state had received any other form of compensation apart from the new land office in Sungai Buloh, he said: "No, nothing. We got nothing!"
He said if the state reneges on the deal, it would have to re-acquire the land and compensate Syarikat Gapurna Builders for the cost of building the new office in Sungai Buloh, as well as other penalties.
theSun had first mentioned the land swap deal in 2006 in the Citizen Nades column.
In 2009, the state assembly tabled the following details of the agreement:
On 12 May 2004, the state government approved the land transfer by way of "penswastaan pembinaan" (privatisation of construction) and land swapping. The agreement was signed in 2006.
Syarikat Gapurna Builders will build a new 11.19-acre land office in Sungai Buloh for RM24.6 million.
Company executives could not be reached for comment but in previous reports, Gapurna chairman and chief executive Datuk Mohd Salim Fateh Din said the new land office will help boost development in Sungai Buloh. He said the building is three times larger and is equipped with state-of-the-art systems to simplify quit rent payments.
The new office in Persiaran Atmosfera, Section U5 is expected to be fully functional on April 1. The Welfare Department are the first tenants, having moved there in November.
Other departments which are in the midst of moving are the Land Office, the District Office, the Petaling Public Works Department, the Petaling Drainage and Irrigation Department, the Government Pensioners Association and the District Development Co-operative.
Assessment counters will be closed on March 25 and re-opened at the new premise on March 28.
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