Fast tracking Kwasa Damansara

Kwasa Land Sdn Bhd, a unit of the Employees Provident Fund is speeding up developments at Kwasa Damansara in Sg Buloh, Selangor and will call out for more tenders this year.

The 932-hectare township, where two mass rapid transit (MRT) stations – the Kwasa Damansara station and the Kwasa Sentral station – are situated, has been moving rather slowly since its inception over 5 years ago.

“Kwasa Land has been quiet for some time because of the economic situation and soft market conditions. This year the company was planning to call for tenders but then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Nevertheless, the company is ready now. It is in the one-meter marathon run and ready to take off.

“When this pandemic is over and when the market starts to recover, it will assist all those developers who have bought land from the company to launch their projects. Kwasa Land will embark on marketing and adverts to promote the development,” said sources with knowledge on the matter.

The source said the township will take a long time to develop but is normal considering that Taman Tun Dr Ismail and its neighbouring Bandar Utama took about 20 years to develop.

“The size of Kwasa Damansara is as big as TTDI and Bandar Utama combined so you can see it is a massive undertaking.

“Kwasa Damansara is a township with good infrastructure, good connectivity and there is a lot of greenery all around. If one has the idea of what Damansara Utama and Damansara Jaya is, you can get a sense of what this development is going to be,” he said.

Out of the total 932ha, the maximum development land (net usable land) that can be used for developments is 60 per cent or 560ha.

The source said that less than 30 per cent of the net usable land was currently under development.

A total of seven parcels successfully went out for bidding since 2014 and taken up by developers.

Combined, the parcels add up to about 60ha or about 10 per cent of the net usable land that was been acquired, he said.

The first parcel of land for development in Kwasa Damansara was awarded to Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) back in July 2014.

MRCB won a bid to develop 26ha, called Project MX-1, in the former Rubber Research Institute (RRI) estate.

Project MX-1, that has an estimated gross development value of RM7 billion is a parcel of mixed development, and under the master layout plan is the town centre of the Kwasa Damansara township.

MRCB paid about RM400 million for the land, where the plot ratio is four.

In January 2017, Kwasa Land awarded the development rights of an 8.5ha plot known as R3-1 within the township to Gadang Holdings Bhd.

The project, which has a GDV of RM700 million, features 780 residential units comprising a combination of high-rise towers and villas.

In 2018, TSR Capital Bhd paid Kwasa Land RM58.94 million for the development rights and revenue sharing in a proposed residential development, Plot R3-3 at the township.

The 2.64ha Plot R3-3 has green connectivity to one of the largest parks, measuring 42 acres, in Kwasa Damansara, encompassing a 13.6-acre lake.

The project, with a GDV of RM295 million, will feature 260 residential units including link, cluster, exclusive homes, and town villas as well as condominiums.

It is expected to be completed within six years in 2024.

“There are several parcels under negotiations including one which has gone out to tender again. This month Kwasa Land is expected to open another tender for a larger parcel of land,” said the source.

NST Property reported previously that Kwasa Land is expected to award the development rights of an 80ha plot within the township sometime this year.

The proposed township development will comprise mainly of landed and high-rise residential and the gross development value could exceed RM1.5 billion.

The land has been described as “extremely strategic” given that it is not too far off from the central business district.

“Everything at Kwasa Land goes out to tender and in the tender document, it has all the information required. It tells you what you can build and what you cannot build and whether you need to build affordable housing.

“Kwasa Land does not look at everything just purely on price. Of course, that is the weightage but we look at everything as a whole. The proposed development must have a strong concept,” said the source.

Source: NST