The government has yet to reveal the company that will be responsible for the new national car project (NNCP), but there seems to be no shortage of interest from parties – and countries – in the project. Earlier this month, the United Kingdom said it is open to working with Malaysia on development of the third national car, and now, Qatar has stated its willingness to participate in the project.
According to a press statement, Qatar has reiterated the country’s willingness to invest in the project in terms of engine development, components, technology equipment or promotion, Utusan Malaysia reports.
The interest from Qatar is not new – last December, it was reported that a sheikh from Qatar had expressed interest to invest up to US$400 billion (RM1.6 trillion) in the project, although entrepreneur development minister Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Yusof was then quick to downplay that aspect, stating that while the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) said it was interested to invest in the country, there was no specific mention of it being for the project.
After a period of quiet, activity surrounding the NNCP has picked up again. In March, it was reported that Putrajaya had shortlisted two companies to lead the project – earlier this week, the identity of the bidders emerged, with news reports indicating Alam Perkasa Consortium (APC) and Elenvi Otomotif to be in the running to set up the Malaysian International Motor Company (Mimco), which will build electric vehicles that will go on sale in 2022.
-paultan