KKTP Sdn Bhd steps in to rescue abandoned 1 Sulaman

PETALING JAYA (Dec 14): The official announcement of the 1 Sulaman development in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, as being an abandoned project will allow KKTP Sdn Bhd — a private company owned by the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sabah — to rescue the project, according to 1 Sulaman Platinum and Gold Tower Buyers’ Action Committee spokesperson Tom Lim.

In its letter dated Nov 24, 2016, the Ministry of Local Government and Housing Sabah stated that the developer of 1 Sulaman was unable to complete the project.

Thus, the project is now declared as abandoned under Section 11(1) (ca) of the Housing Development (Control and Licensing) Act 1966.

The copy of the letter was posted on the 1 Sulaman Platinum and Gold Tower Buyer Group’s Facebook on Dec 7, 2016.

“We [Buyers’ Action Committee] have received the letter last week. This has given temporary relieve to the buyers as they can stop paying the mortgage loan instalment until further notice,” Lim told TheEdgeProperty.com via.

According to him, the buyers of the first phase — Platinum Tower, continued to pay instalments for three and half years even though the project was abandoned.

After officially declared as abandoned, KKTP Sdn Bhd will now act as administrator of the project and engage with independent professionals such as quantity surveyors and accountants to conduct a cost assessment of the 1 Sulaman development.

“The cost assessment will take about six months to complete. After that, the project will be opened for tender to interested developers to come in as white knight,” he added.

Situated in a 9.6-acre tract of land, the leasehold development comprises 2,058 condominium units and 63 units of shoplexes in two residential towers as well as a water theme park and recreational landscape park.

The project was developed by Sagajuta (Sabah) Sdn Bhd, which is also the developer of 1Borneo shopping mall and Warisan Square.

The construction of 1 Sulaman started in 2009 and the first tower, Platinum tower, was slated to be completed by 2012. However, construction has stopped since 2011.

Lim said the construction of Platinum tower has reached about 75%, while Gold tower is about 35% completed.

The 1 Sulaman Platinum and Gold Tower Buyers’ Action Committee was set up in April last year to follow up on the progress of the project. Currently, there are about 800 members in the group.

“Most buyers, including myself, are buying for own-stay and investment. However, this has turned out to be a complete nightmare to all of us when we found out that construction work has stopped and we still have to pay the monthly instalment. This has drained all our resources,” he added.

Lim hoped that after the cost assessment, there will be white knight developers to revive the project.