KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 22 — The Finance Ministry must disclose how it plans to raise funds needed to execute the Tun Razak Exchange project that it will take over from 1Malaysia Development Bhd, said PKR’s Rafizi Ramli.
The Pandan MP said the project, which he estimated to cost RM40 billion, would be a strain on government coffers.
“Where is the government going to find the money for this project? Even if we are talking about margins, they would need RM20 billion at least in the next five or six years,” he said.
He also questioned the wisdom of the government accruing further debt when its borrowings were already near the legal limit, which he said would have been exceeded if contingent liabilities were included in official accounting.
Rafizi additionally asked if the takeover would include adopting liabilities previously accrued by 1MDB for the project.
In 2013, 1MDB issued bonds worth RM3 billion to raise capital for the project.
The bonds and the interest payments are now part of a legal dispute between between 1MDB and International Petroleum Investment Company (IPIC) at an arbitration court in London.
