BY SHALINI RAVINDRAN

More discussions will be carried out to determine the affected construction area and the compensation with unwilling owners. — filepic

SOME 80% of owners and tenants of Ampang Park shopping centre have agreed to the new design plan and mutual agreement put forward by Mass Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp).

Ampang Park 1Malaysia Traders Association vice-president Wan Kamal Izzuddin Wan Kasim said about 137 owners out of the 253 individual strata titles were willing to go with the proposed new design option for the underground station following discussions with MRT.

“We have until the end of January to officially sign off and we are trying our best to accommodate that deadline.

“In the meantime, more discussion is needed to determine the affected construction area and compensation for owners who do not agree to the mutual agreement,” he told StarMetro.

Wan Kamal said they were glad the mall could be saved from full demolition, based on the reviewed plan.

“The construction of an underground link between the MRT and LRT stations will only affect traders in certain areas. This means it will be business as usual for the others,” he said.

The group had organised a peaceful demonstration on Dec 31 at the mall to create public awareness about the ongoing issue.

“We are grateful to MRT Corp for holding discussions with us. We have collected more than 12,000 signatures within the last month, from people who are against the mall’s demolition.

When contacted, MRT Corp strategic communications and public relations director Datuk Najmuddin Abdullah said the company was in discussions with the stakeholders over the matter.

“We are talking with the committee that was officially elected by the owners of Ampang Park Shopping Centre during the Ampang Park Management Corporation annual general meeting to represent them in negotiations with us.

“As negotiations are ongoing, we believe it is not appropriate to give any comment on the issue or speculate on consequences of any outcome,” he said in a statement.

MRT had been reported as saying that the Ampang Park mall had to be demolished in order to carry out plans to build a five-storey underground station for its Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya line.