The AI company, which is in the middle of a court fight with Elon Musk, has been unhappy with how Apple integrated ChatGPT into its devices.
GEORGE TOWN: The Penang government has defended its move to cancel the request for proposal for the 559-acre Ladang Byram/Changkat development project, saying that bidders failed to comply with key tender conditions.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow said the Penang Development Corporation acted in accordance with principles of good governance, transparency and strict compliance with tender procedures throughout the RFP process. He said claims that PDC had"lost revenue" by not accepting a RM818mil bid submitted by the IJM-Aspen consortium were misleading as the sum alone was not the sole benchmark.
"Compliance with the main RFP conditions is a mandatory pre-requisite," he said in a statement on Friday . Among there conditions involving development requirements, land ownership tenure, land transfer mechanisms, the method of Guaranteed Profit Sharing payment, as well as the imposition of several additional conditions that contradicted the RFP documents. He said the consortium wanted additional requirements that would have significant financial implications on PDC and the state government.
On Thursday Chow and his predecessor Lim Guan Eng got into a spat at a state assembly session over the cancelled project. These included a requirement for PDC to provide major infrastructure connections to the proposed project at an estimated cost of RM150mil, a request for freehold land status involving premiums estimated at RM144mil, as well as the provision of a quarry site in Batu Kawan involving an opportunity cost of about RM25mil.
He said the bidder had also sought the"First Right of Refusal" over PDC's remaining 500 acres of land and proposed changes to shareholding structures and land transfers without requiring PDC's approval.
"These matters cannot be accepted as they involve strategic state land ownership control and risks of property speculation and flipping," he said. Taking into account the overall costs and implications, Chow said the actual net value that would have been received by PDC was only about RM500mil instead of RM818mil. He added that the amount was lower than the reserve price set during earlier negotiations with UMECH and the 2025 RFP exercise.
"As such, PDC's decision not to continue negotiations with IJM-Aspen was in line with good governance practices and PDC's standard operating procedures for RFP exercises," he said. Keep pushing for labour reforms to safeguard teachers' rights, says NUTP
Request For Proposal RFP IJM-Aspen Ladang Byram/Changkat Chow Kon Yeow Tender Penang Development Corporation PDC
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