He said Prime Minister Najib Razak had acted in the best interests of Malaysians by legally terminating the contract in a bid to find a better deal.

“During his trip to Beijing, the prime minister made it clear that the new consortium might include the previous consortium players. So there is no issue here.

“The deal was never a flip-flop. There were certain conditions not fulfilled by the previous consortium, so the government terminated the deal, legally,” he told a press conference after presenting certificates of completion to the trainees of MMC Gamuda’s Tunnelling Training Academy here today.

Recently, TRX City Sdn Bhd announced that the Bandar Malaysia SSA with Iskandar Waterfront Holdings Sdn Bhd (IWH) and China Railway Engineering Corp (M) Sdn Bhd (CREC) involving 60% of the issued and paid-up capital of Bandar Malaysia Sdn Bhd had lapsed due to the purchasing companies’ failure to fulfil payment obligations.

It was reported that the consortium, IWH-CREC Sdn Bhd, had failed to pay RM7.42 billion for the 60% stake despite it being granted repeated extensions since December 2015.

According to TRX City, the finance ministry would continue to retain 100% ownership in Bandar Malaysia and ensure the development of the property benefits the country.