KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 — Over 40 per cent of contracts have been awarded to local companies to undertake the second-stage development of the Forest City property project in Johor, Chinese developer Country Garden Pacificview Sdn Bhd (CGPV) said.

CGPV told StarBiz that about RM2 million or 42.55 per cent of its capital expenditure (capex) was spent on services provided by Malaysian consultancy firms and construction companies, denying claims that local companies did not benefit from the mega project.

"Cement, sand and other materials were bought locally. We did not import them from China,” CGPV president Yu Runze was quoted as saying.

"So it is untrue to say that Forest City has not benefited Malaysia or its people,” he added.

Yu said his company will spend an additional RM5 billion in capex for more facilities like a golf course, another hotel, infrastructures, and a factory to manufacture "ready-to-assemble” concrete structures like staircases and beams.

He also denied that CGPV was in a dire strait from Beijing’s capital controls as he pointed out that there were only 60 withdrawals, with 15,000-unit sales as of the end of 2016.

"If we are not confident about Forest City, we will not be investing some RM470 million to build a factory to manufacture ‘ready-to-assemble’ concrete structures like staircases, beams and columns,” Yu was quoted as saying.

He further added that CGPV was targeting buyers beyond China, and that it has established 20 galleries in Malaysia as well as in other Asian cities and the Middle East.

"Forest City is a project that spans 20 years or more. It is more than just selling and marketing of residentials.

"We are managing the landscape, building management, sewage, utilities and every component that goes towards building a township. We are essentially the builder and operator,” he was quoted as saying.

Yu, who is also CGPV’s chief strategy officer, said a duty-free area will be operational by end of this year in Forest City.

Unlike Langkawi, Labuan and Stulang in Johor, Yu reportedly said that only a portion of the island will be designated as a duty-free zone.