The Port Klang Authority (PKA) today sued Kuala Dimensi Sdn Bhd (KDSB) for RM720 million, a sum which the contractor allegedly overcharged for the Port Klang Free Zone (PKFZ) project.

The suit was filed at the Shah Alam High Court this morning by PKA chairperson Lee Hwa Beng, who is the plaintiff on behalf of PKA.

lee hwa beng pkfz pc 210509 02 In a statement today, Lee said PKA is seeking a declaration that interest charged on the balance purchase price of the land purchase was wrongly imposed.

He said KDSB had sold the land to PKA at RM1.088 billion at the rate of RM25 per square foot on a "special value" basis in addition to interest being charged.

"Interest ought not to have been charged separately and/or in addition to the said RM25 per square foot", said Lee.

PKA is also seeking the court's intervention and rectification of its schedule of payment to KDSB, as well as a refund of the interest payments made thus far.

Lee added that PKA's decision to sue KDSB was made even before the establishment of the ‘super' task force established by the Cabinet to probe the PKFZ scandal.

Lee warns that other suits would be filed for fraudulent, wrongful or irregular claims but did not name the parties concerned.

KDSB: PKA has no basis to sue

KDSB is the turnkey developer of the PKA owned multi-billion ringgit PKFZ flop , prompting the government to engage PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to perform an audit on the project.

Following the publication of PwC's report in May, KDSB filed a defamation suit against PKA and the auditor for defamatory comments found in the report.

Amongst others, the PwC report claims that KDSB ‘may have' overcharged PKA in the land purchase and overpriced the value of its works.

Reacting to this, KDSB deputy chief executive officer Faizal Abdullah said the land price was valued by government valuers and was approved by Cabinet.

He said the government valuers had also considered that the purchase was done on deffered payment terms, with interests and payment over a long period.

"Hence, PKA's civil suit has no basis and not maintainable," said Faizal, who adds that KDSB had yet to be served with the summons.