RM12B WORLD-CLASS PROJECT IN SEPANG

By : LEE WEI LIAN

PETALING JAYA : A 4,000-acre integrated eco-city will be built in Sepang, Selangor by GuocoLand at a cost of RM12.5 billion, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak yesterday.

The development will have a gross development value of RM48 billion and aims to be a hub for institutions of higher learning as well as a base for multi-national companies looking to make Malaysia their regional base.

The project is estimated to create 4,712 jobs by 2020 and have a gross national income (GNI) impact of RM1.34 billion.

GuocoLand’s Sepang project was one of 21 projects secured, which are worth RM20 billion in committed investments, since the last Economic Transformation (ETP) update, said the prime minister at the first ETP update of this year.

The project, dubbed Sepang International City, is located about 8km from Sungai Pelek town, and is projected to have a population of over 500,000 when fully developed.

GuocoLand Managing Director Yeow Wai Siaw said the project is set to be launched in about 18 month’s time once all relevant approvals were obtained.

He said that the project’s location near the sea and Kuala Lumpur International Airport is a key selling point as most developments around the world tended to gravitate towards airports.

He added that the site had a 15km-long sea frontage. A fact sheet on the project said one of the features of the development is a world-class urban park modelled after New York’s Central Park.

The developer, a member of the Hong Leong group, is also developing the Damansara City integrated development project in Damansara Heights.

Other projects secured since the last ETP update include: a RM4-billion investment by Infineon for a wafer fabrication facility in Kulim; a RM170-million “world’s first” organic spa and wellness resort by Berjaya Hills Berhad in Berjaya Hills; a RM41-million investment by UK-based Heriott Watt University for a new campus in Putrajaya.

Also on the list are: a RM492-million investment by the Asian Women’s Leadership University (AWLU) Project to create an international private liberal arts institution in Malaysia; a RM250-million investment by Japan’s NTT to build an advanced 30,000-sq ft data centre in Cyberjaya; a RM32.2-million investment by Evergreen Livestock to establish a dairy cluster in Keningau, Sabah; and a RM326-million investment by Duria Resources to setup a durian products manufacturing and processing plant in Gopeng.(TMI)