Jiankun offered to be main contractor of RM90 mil construction job in Sentul

• The project, which has been proposed to be known as Rumpun Residency @ Sentul, will see the construction of a 29-floor modern apartment building that contains 320 units along with seven shop units on the ground floor.

KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 15): Jiankun International Bhd has been offered to be the main contractor of a RM90 million development project located in Sentul by a unit of Menara Rezeki Sdn Bhd, a company linked to Umno president and former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's family.

The project, which has been proposed to be known as Rumpun Residency @ Sentul, will see the construction of a 29-floor modern apartment building that contains 320 units along with seven shop units on the ground floor.

In a statement on Thursday (Sept 15), Jiankun said that its subsidiary JKI Construction Sdn Bhd has received a conditional offer letter from Menarez Development Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Menara Rezeki, for the construction project.

The development will be on a 1.29-acre land owned by Koperasi Perumahan Sentul Pasar Kuala Lumpur. Menara Rezeki is the joint venture (JV) partner of Koperasi Perumahan Sentul Pasar Kuala Lumpur for the development of the apartment building.

"While the offer is subject to the shareholders' approval, the management is positive about the potential of this project, where 80% of the units consist of Rumah Mampu Milik Wilayah Persekutuan (Rumawip).

"This is in line with the group's mission to improve people's lives and support the government's initiative to provide affordable housing for first-time buyers," said Jiankun executive director and chief executive officer Edwin Silvester Das.

Besides representatives from Jiankun, the signing of the conditional offer letter was attended by Menarez Development's executive director Datuk Nurul Hidayah Ahmad Zahid, Menara Rezeki's managing director Datuk Saiful Nizam Mohd Yusoff and Koperasi Perumahan Sentul Fasa Kuala Lumpur Bhd chairman Abd Hakim Abd Wahab.

Notably, Nurul Hidayah is the daughter of Umno president Zahid whereas Saiful Nizam is the son-in-law of Zahid.

Meanwhile, Jiankun's independent, non-executive chairman Tan Sri Mohamed Apandi Ali said that the contract award is another achievement for the group as it shows that the property development industry recognises it as one of the leading construction players in the industry.

"This puts us in a good position to demonstrate our capabilities as the job involved is for the development of affordable housing, which is important for the country. We look forward to the approval from the shareholders and to kick-start the project," he said in a statement.

Apandi was formerly the attorney general from July 2015 to May 2018.

In June, Jiankun said it was reviving its redevelopment project of Kampong Bharu in Kuala Lumpur, citing the improved property market outlook following the reopening of the economy.

It inked an agreement with Menara Rezeki to undertake the project via their JV firm, Menara Rezeki Properties Sdn Bhd.

As of 4.04pm on Thursday, Jiankun's share price was up by 2.22% or half a sen to 23 sen, bringing the group a market capitalisation of RM56.3 million.