PLAZA Rakyat buyers are hoping for a meeting with Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to get an update on the proposed mixed-development project that has been left idle for more than two decades.

Plaza Rakyat pro tem committee spokesman Ng Pang Wah told The Malaysian Insight that they hope that the project will be revived.

“We saw a couple of months ago that a signboard has been erected at the site and we believe that some construction might be going on.

“We are hoping that DBKL can shed some light on this,” he said.

Last year, former Federal Territories minister Khalid Abdul Samad said the project, located in Jalan Pudu, would be built by a new developer, with the development order to be released after certain sums owed to DBKL.

The owners said despite writing numerous letters to the authorities over the years, they have yet to get a meeting with them.

Ng hopes that newly elected mayor Mahadi Che Ngah will be able to assist them.

“We sent a letter to the new mayor (Mahadi) on October 8 and we hope that he will grant us a meeting.”

When contacted, Mahadi said he needs time to gather the information (on the project).

Ng said they will wait for a response from DBKL.

“If there is no news, then we will have to seek other options.”

It was reported in May 2019 that Guangzhou Xu Zhuo Enterprise Management Co Ltd proposed to buy a 43% stake in project developer Profit Consortium Sdn Bhd.

The China-based firm is reportedly expected to pay off an outstanding debt to DBKL and recommence work on the project.

Plaza Rakyat is a mixed development comprising a 79-storey office tower, 46-storey condominium block, 24-storey hotel and seven-storey shopping centre.

The project was abandoned in 1998, following the 1997 Asian financial crisis. – December 6, 2020.