PacifiCity to be determined if it is a 'sick' project

25 July 2024

KOTA KINABALU: Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Joachim Gunsalam has announced that the abandoned PacifiCity project will undergo a review to assess whether it meets the criteria for classification as a "sick government project."

This decision comes in the wake of Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor's revelation that 25 out of 1,218 ongoing projects in Sabah are currently deemed to be in a state of distress, as discussed during the recent State Development Action Council meeting.

Dr. Joachim hoped that the federal government could provide financial support to revive these projects.

The Local Government and Housing Minister, Dr. Joachim said he will look further into this issue during an upcoming meeting with the members of the Pacificity Project Purchasers Welfare Association (P3WA) at Wisma Innoprise.

Joachim said that after the PacifiCity developer was declared bankrupt, the entire project was placed under the Director General of Insolvency (DGI).

Finding appropriate "white knights" cannot be decided alone and must be discussed with the Insolvency Department.

However, he assured that the interests of the purchasers are given priority.

The Local Government and Housing Ministry will formally send a letter to Bank Negara Malaysia for necessary action since Pacificity has been declared an abandoned project.

Commercial banks will be notified to stop collecting loans and interest from buyers.

Additionally, the ministry will announce on its website that PacifiCity has been declared an abandoned project.

The ministry will also write to the Insolvency Department informing them that a specific fund has been allocated to provide 24-hour security service at the PacifiCity site to prevent vandalism, upon request by P3WA members.

Currently, P3WA members are paying RM6,000 a month for security expenses.

Meanwhile, Local Government and Housing Ministry Deputy Permanent Secretary Stanley Chong said they had written to the Federal Local Government and Housing Ministry requesting funding to save Pacificity.

The current budget for rescuing unfinished projects only covers Peninsular Malaysia and does not include Sabah and Sarawak.

Chong added that there are currently several "white knights" interested in taking over PacifiCity, but the ministry must carefully vet the potential candidates.