COMMENT | Jakel strikes gold with velodrome land

COMMENT | The Cheras Velodrome in Kuala Lumpur has a chequered past. It is where Rio Olympics bronze medallist Azizulhasni Awang started his cycling career.

Built 40 years ago, it continuously bred cycling icons like Rosman Alwi (who competed at the 1984 and 1988 Olympics), followed by M Kumaresan (who competed in the 1988 and 1992 Olympics) and Rizal Tisin (2008 Olympics).

But in March 2017, it closed its doors to be demolished and supposedly to make way for commercial development by the landowner, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL).

But unknown to many, DBKL had already sold the land two years earlier, in 2014, to an associate company of the Jakel Group for RM133.49 million in a private deal for which no tenders were called.

In 2015, Jakel Development announced that it was planning an integrated development comprising commercial, residential, and retail components, a stone’s throw from the J Dupion project.

This development will feature...