Eco World Development Group Bhd and Public Bank Bhd signed a memorandum of understanding on Aug 26 at Eco Grandeur, the developer’s largest township, in Puncak Alam. The agreement sets up a Special Sustainable Financing Package for buyers of EcoWorld properties that hold green certification from the Green Building Index, GreenRE or other accreditation bodies.
The package sits under two existing Public Bank products. Residential purchases fall under the Green 5HOME Plan, and non-residential ones under the Green SWIFT Plan. Buyers get preferential pricing and fast lane approval. They can also take a financing option to buy energy efficient appliances, fixtures and fittings for the property.
Public Bank managing director and chief executive Tan Sri Dr Tay Ah Lek said the occasion was “most meaningful” because it brought the two companies together to push the green building agenda. He added that the bank has committed to carbon neutrality by 2030 and net zero by 2050, and plans to mobilise RM40 Billion in ESG friendly financing by 2025, including easier access to green building loans.
Property and carbon
Tay pointed to studies showing that the property sector drives almost 40% of global carbon emissions, even as it contributes heavily to gross domestic product. He said EcoWorld was tackling that impact through sustainable projects in Klang Valley, Johor and Penang, and that its flagship Eco Grandeur and Eco Business Park V (EBP V) would reshape Puncak Alam into “a sustainable and thriving community.”
EcoWorld president and CEO Datuk Chang Khim Wah said the developer would keep investing in green certification. “To date, close to 90% of our projects are green accredited,” he said. On the partnership itself, he added: “With Public Bank as our partner, it is easier and more affordable for customers now to own a green-certified property.”
The Puncak Alam sites
Eco Grandeur and EBP V, a series of green industrial parks in the same corridor, together cover close to 2,300 acres. Public Bank has financed both since the start in 2016.
Both projects were planned under a Sustainability Framework drawn up at the outset. Planners studied the site’s biodiversity and used it to guide the master plan, and created or reconfigured town parks, pocket and linear parks, waterways and waterbodies so local plants and animals could keep a foothold.
Eco Grandeur also finished and handed over 987 landed units to the original settlers of the land. They had waited more than 20 years for homes after earlier developers abandoned the project.
Chang thanked Public Bank for backing a site that had sat abandoned for close to two decades. “Today, less than six years since we first acquired the lands in 2016, the entire corridor where Eco Grandeur and Eco Business Park V are situated has become a thriving residential, commercial and industrial hub,” he said.
Sources
- EcoWorld, Public Bank ink MOU to offer special end-financing package for projects with green certifications | EdgeProp.my
- EcoWorld and Public Bank signed MOU to offer special end-financing package for projects with green certifications
Sources
- EcoWorld, Public Bank ink MOU to offer special end-financing …
- EcoWorld and Public Bank signed MOU to offer special end …
