In a joint statement issued by the parties yesterday, the groups stated that the agreement for IWH CREC Sdn Bhd to acquire a 60% stake in the Bandar Malaysia mixed commercial project for RM7.41 billion lapsed on May 6 after conditions were not met.

Bandar Malaysia was set to house the terminal for the now scrapped high-speed rail link between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore and is owned by TRX City, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the finance ministry.

According to Reuters, the joint statement said parties had been working to find ways to preserve the partnership, but that “despite such efforts, to date the parties have not been able to mutually agree to the terms of the extension”.

Last year, IWH CREC paid a RM1.24 billion deposit and advance to the government to allow them to start work on Bandar Malaysia.

TRX City said it remained committed to the project and that “any future business and commercialisation plans will take into account market conditions and the national socio-economic agenda”.

The statement added that China Railway Group Ltd would continue to work closely with TRX City regarding future cooperation in Malaysia, and IWH would continue to support the Malaysian government in nation-building.

The Bandar Malaysia project was originally a deal struck by former prime minister Najib Razak to ease the debt burden of the 1MDB state fund, but collapsed in May 2017 due to payment disputes before being reinstated in April 2019.