THE development of some railway land in Malaysia will be based on the concept of transit-oriented development (TOD) with focus on residential, retail or mixed projects, says Keretapi Tanah Melayu Bhd (KTMB) chief.
“TOD is the best method of development to integrate residential and retail with railway stations. Not only can we unlock the land value, the stations will also be upgraded with new look and facilities.
“This will add value to the overall development and bring convenience and value-added services to buyers and owner-occupiers,” KTMB chief executive officer Mohd Rani Hisham Samsudin told NST Property.
TOD seeks to maximise access to mass transit and non-motorised transportation with centrally located rail or bus stations surrounded by relatively high-density commercial and residential developments.
The aim is to increase public transport ridership by reducing the use of private cars and promoting sustainable urban growth.
A good example is the KL Sentral development in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur.
Spread across 29.16ha, KL Sentral encompasses the RM1.1 billion Stesen Sentral, Grade-A office towers and suites, apartments and condominiums, hotels and a mall.
Stesen Sentral, currently Malaysia’s largest transit hub, is where several rail networks, such as light rail transit (LRT), Express Rail Link (ERL) services, KTM trains and monorail, converge.
Union Square in Hong Kong is a TOD focused and centred on Kowloon Station. It can be accessed easily by public transportation, including Mass Transit Railway and Kowloon Motor Bus.
The development contains some of the tallest buildings in Hong Kong, namely the 118-story International Commerce Centre and The Cullinan residential tower (68 floors). It also houses the Elements Mall, with retail space occupied by luxury brands, chain stores, a grand cinema, a supermarket, restaurants, and an ice rink.
KTMB moving to TOD
Mohd Rani said Railway Assets Corp (RAC) owns all vacant land around KTM Komuter stations that can be developed as a TOD.
KTMB has been planning TOD projects in the Klang Valley with estimated gross development value of RM6 billion with RAC as part of its initiatives to increase income from the non-fare segment.
However, Mohd Rani said the projects will only take off early next year as KTMB seeks to resolve various issues amid the softening market.
KTMB had initially planned to start the developments on RAC’s approved land sites, featuring residential and retail units this year.
The proposed developments are located in Kajang, Bangi and Klang on land adjacent to KTM Komuter stations. The land is owned by RAC.
“There are several things that KTMB will have to look at, including revising the value of the development projects. We have to look at what the market wants as well as demand and supply.
“The areas we are targeting under the first phase of the TOD developments are very prime and we need to make sure whatever that we build will create convenience and generate income for the government and KTMB,” he said.
Mohd Rani said the development of the land has gone through an open tender and KTMB is currently finalising the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the two of the three identified sites.
AFFORDABLE HOUSING ON
RAILWAY LAND
According to Transport Minister Anthony Loke, RAC owns 12,833ha land along the KTM railways as well as pockets of land in prime areas, of which 3,720ha are available for development while the remaining 9,114ha are reserve land.
As a corporation under the ministry, RAC also owns assets including rolling stocks and railways of KTMB, and combined with the land, they are worth over RM35 billion.
The Transport Ministry is planning to develop affordable housing projects on the 3720ha land that is available for development to generate better returns for the company.
Loke said the ministry will seek approval from the Cabinet to develop the land.
“Once we have gotten the approval, we will then call for open tenders for the land,” Loke said after visting RAC headquarters in Kajang recently.
He said the RAC land is strictly for housing developments, especially those in the affordable range.
“We don’t encourage developers to build office blocks on the land as we don’t want to see oversupply of office spaces in Kuala Lumpur. We hope for them to do more affordable housing projects to allow more people to live nearby the railways and use public transport to commute to work,” Loke said.
He said the ministry sees a lot of potential in RAC as it owns huge landbank, many sites of which are located in urban areas and worth a lot.
“If RAC is able to generate more income by unlocking the value of its landbank, it will have more flexibility to develop our railway service and provide better service to the public,” he said.