The capital city of Selangor, which is home to a few mega real estate developments like the i-City, will become the originator of Selangor as the global technology innovation center, says Menteri Besar of Selangor Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari.
He said this in his Facebook posting following a recent article by NST Property that the capital city of Selangor may transform into a global centre of technological innovation similar to Silicon Valley, a region in the South San Francisco Bay Area in the United States.
Turning the capital city of Selangor into a global technology innovation center will attract domestic and foreign direct investments.
The Shah Alam City Council's (MBSA) new rezoning plan (MBSA Local Plan Draft 2035) outlines land use and development from the year 2021 to 2035. Listed in the draft plan are proposed developments and townships surrounding six key projects in Selangor, including i-City.
The plan will widen the footprint for the RM10 billion i-City, which will morph from a 72-acre ultrapolis development to a 1,766-acre economic zone within the state encompassing the neighbouring Section 4 and Section 7.
The proposed plan for the extended area, covering almost 1,700 acres of land in Section 4 and Section 7, includes establishing a light industrial zone in the western corridor, a commercial zone, technology zone, and an education zone in the eastern corridor comprising two institutions of higher learning, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) and University of Selangor (UNISEL).
The immediate surrounding industrial area will be gazetted for commercial purposes for ICT-related developments, similar to Silicon Valley.
Henry Butcher Malaysia chief operating officer Tang Chee Meng said as the leading economic powerhouse in the country, the state is taking the right steps to direct the growth of Selangor to upgrade and move along with global development trends.
Tang further said the Smart Selangor 2025 initiative will enable the state to embrace the new economy so that it will be able to compete for high-quality jobs regionally and globally.
The plan includes creating a more liveable, healthier, and sustainable environment for its residents going forward, he said.
"In this regard, the state, through MBSA, has plans to build a Silicon Valley like a technological hub in Shah Alam called Selangor Golden Triangle centred around i-City, which already has an established digital footprint and served by a 400 GB capable network backbone.
"This, to me, is a forward-thinking plan to transform Selangor and will bring its economic development to the next level where 5G, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and Internet of Things (IoT) will be the buzzwords of the new economy," Tang told NST Property.
Tang said the i-City is well-positioned to contribute to the newer areas included in the MBSA Local Plan Draft 2035.
"Since its inception, I-Berhad, the developer of iCity, has always anchored the development of the township on ICT and technology and has received MSC status certification. The township is equipped with a 400 GB network backbone and is 5G ready.
"It has incorporated the ABC concept (artificial intelligence, big data, and cloud computing) into the development and has introduced its SuperApp mobile community app for its residents, workers, tenants, and businesses encompassing property purchase and rental functions, parking payment, shopping, and other uses."
Property price may rise in Selangor if well planned
Tang said encumbered by the current uncertain political environment and the emergence of a third wave of the Covid-19 pandemic, the property market is currently in a challenging phase with reduced volume and value of transactions and an increase in unsold or property overhang numbers.
"Nevertheless, we feel that unless there is a global recession, a recovery in the market may take place in the second half of 2021 or early 2022. Another point to note is that properties in strategic and established locations are expected to weather the challenging market better and will recover faster," he said.
Tang said for properties that are located in areas that are served by the latest infrastructure, they are, in a sense, future-proofed and will attract higher demand and enjoy better capital appreciation going forward.
"If Selangor can implement its plans as a Golden Triangle, it will position the area to embrace the future and meet the needs and demands of residents of tomorrow. As a result, properties within the area will benefit from this," he added.
Transformation of Shah Alam
Jones Lang Wootton Malaysia deputy managing director Prem Kumar said the strategic location of Shah Alam and as evidenced by the overwhelming success of the i-City development as an example, gives cause for an entire change in mind-set about the transformation of Shah Alam to be positioned as a top-notch city in its own right compared its humble beginning as an area focused on thorough-bred industrial activities.
"Stakeholders are conscious and making efforts to ascertain the most effective approach to tap the potentialities of Shah Alam," he said in an interview.
Kumar said the locality of Shah Alam had very much catered for industrial activities since the 1980s.
The proximity to the ports at Port Klang had been and continues to be one of the key catalysts for Shah Alam to be positioned and regarded as a premier industrial area in Malaysia, he said.
"Whilst Shah Alam has been thriving as a sought-after destination for industrialists, both local and foreign, the areas surrounding Shah Alam such as Subang Jaya, Sungai Buloh, and Kelang had been experiencing their exponential growth over the last two to three decades.
"The growth within the abovementioned areas surrounding Shah Alam focused on residential and commercial segments of the real estate market and these localities have achieved a high level of urbanisation," he said.
Kumar said the high intensity of growth within the areas surrounding Shah Alam has had a tremendous positive influence on the perception of market stakeholders towards Shah Alam.
Such perception has been prevalent in the context of property transactions whereby property purchases were targeted at land uses that no longer hinged on traditional industrial activities, he said.
"The capital city of Selangor which houses the i-City project is a classic culmination of the progression within Shah Alam, which is elevating itself to the upper echelons of the real estate hierarchy. The positive market response to the various development components within i-City is one of the most important indicators of its superior status as an 'intelligent city' that can be paralleled to other world class developments, both within and outside of Malaysia," he said.