Eco World Development Group Bhd plans to develop two townships in Malaysia, spread over 375 acres, with a combined gross development value of approximately 7.76 billion Malaysian ringgit.

The company established a joint venture with the Employees Provident Fund Board for the project by signing a conditional subscription and shareholders agreement. The deal will let the board subscribe for a 40% equity interest in Eco Horizon Sdn Bhd, the joint venture company.

Eco World will continue to own 60% of the joint venture, which will develop prime land plots in Batu Kawan, Penang. The two townships will be known as Eco Horizon and Eco Sun.

The company said the latest agreement marked the third time that Eco World and the Employees Provident Fund Board formed a partnership to develop projects in the country's northern region. The first was the Bukit Bintang City Centre, followed by an agreement for the joint development of the Eco Grandeur and Eco Business Park V project in November 2016.

As of Jan. 23, US$1 was equivalent to 4.44 Malaysian ringgit.