The company, Aras Niaga Group Bhd named the Kedah State Secretary Incorporated (Kedah SSI), its general manager, and the Kedah state secretary as defendants, Bernama reported.

The firm’s lawyer, Firhat Muhammad Fikri said Aras Niaga decided to take legal action after it was instructed to return the 255-hectare land in Kuala Muda, which had been leased in 2020.

The company is now seeking damages amounting to RM300 million for breach of promise and RM10 million in compensation for the work carried out on the site.

Aras Niaga executive chairman Annas Anuar said the company had planned to collaborate with Permodalan Kedah Bhd to develop an iron ore mine on the site.

He said the state government did not entertain their requests for mining licences, which put the project in limbo. “Moreover, in a meeting with the Kedah SSI general manager, we were asked to return the land,” he was quoted as saying.

He said the company had secured a 45-year lease for the site and fulfilled all prerequisites necessary to initiate the development of the iron ore mine.

“However, in the end, we were not granted the mining license, and it is clearly detrimental to the company.”