Michelle Ong, chief executive of KAJ Development, said the company was awaiting further details from the state government after receiving a termination notice of its contract to carry out the project, which entails the building of three islands, a deepwater port, a cruise terminal, and commercial and residential property.

She claimed that “tens of billions at the minimum” of foreign investment would be lost as several large overseas companies had already pledged future funding to ensure completion of the project.

According to Ong, the country could pay heavy price due to foreign investors’ loss of confidence.

Although the state government had terminated the company’s contract, Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali was reported to have said on Saturday that the project would be continued, pending some technical matters being resolved.

Ong said that the project could not move ahead without her company’s involvement. “I don’t think they can go on without us because the intellectual property right is ours.”

She also cast doubts on whether financing from overseas would continue if a different developer was brought in. “We developed the project, we came up with the master plan and we’ve spent all the money so far. Our investors have come in because they believe in us. They have confidence in me and they’ve said they’re with me.”

Ong claimed that KAJ could finish the reclamation project in three years “as long as there aren’t any obstacles”.