KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 30 — UEM Sunrise Bhd’s wholly-owned subsidiaries, UEM Land Bhd and Nusajaya Heights Sdn Bhd, is proposing to dispose of 72 of the companies’ freehold industrial plots in Johor Bahru to AME Elite Consortium Bhd’s units, Pentagon Land Sdn Bhd and Greenhill SILC Sdn Bhd for RM434.3 million.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia today, UEM said the parties had entered into several definitive agreements on the sale of the industrial plots, measuring approximately 68.7 hectares, which are located in Phase 3 of the Southern Industrial and Logistics Clusters (SiLC) in Johor Bahru.

In a separate statement, UEM Sunrise’s Performance Delivery and Commercial chief officer Anuar Kasim said the sale marks the start of a strategic collaboration between UEM Sunrise —  the landowner and master developer of Iskandar Puteri—and AME Elite Consortium, a specialist in the construction of customised large manufacturing plants and design-and-build and development of industrial parks.

"We are confident that this collaboration with AME Elite Consortium will be another catalyst for the Iskandar Puteri Development Masterplan, particularly in accelerating the growth and development of SiLC.

"This will have a positive impact on the rapidly growing township of Iskandar Puteri, enhancing its livable qualities for the surrounding communities,” he said.

He said the sale is expected to steadily contribute to UEM Sunrise group’s earnings over the next three to four years, with proceeds to be channelled towards the company’s strategic initiatives, including new land banking opportunities.

Anuar said with Phases 1 and 2 of the SiLC sold out, the collaboration with AME Elite Consortium would enable the roll-out of Phase 3 more rapidly as UEM Sunrise would be dealing with an industrial park specialist rather than several plot buyers.

He added that AME Elite Consortium has given its commitment via the definitive agreements to acquire the entire balance of the industrial plots in SiLC Phase 3.

Meanwhile, AME Elite Consortium managing director Kelvin Lee Chai said the company aims to generate more than RM1.5 billion in gross development value (GDV) through the land acquisitions.

He said with the new lands, its total landbank would increase to 93.9 hectares, allowing them to generate sizeable GDV over the development period.

"The enlarged scale of developments would extend the sustainability of our earnings even further,” said Lee.

AME is currently developing two integrated industrial parks in Johor—i-Park@Indahpura (Phase 3) and i-Park@Senai Airport City (Phase 1, 2 and 3). — Bernama