THE landscape of Kuala Lumpur is set to take on a dramatic change in the next
five to 10 years with more ambitious projects in the pipeline.
Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Ahmad Phesal Talib has described these as
Towers of Excellence.
The structures, with a collective gross development value of billions of
ringgit, will be built at various locations in the city centre and are set to
change the city’s skyline in the most dramatic way possible.
Towers of Excellence
Areas identified for several towering skyscrapers are near the Kuala Lumpur
City Centre (KLCC), the Bukit Bintang City Centre (BBCC), Jalan Ampang, Kampung
Baru, Jalan Kuching, Brickfields, and Bangsar.
Ahmad Phesal said the high-rise towers, between 60 and 65 storeys high, have
been approved in Jalan Stonor and Jalan Conlay near the Petronas Twin
Towers.
Vertical growth ahead: A view of Kuala Lumpur across
the Klang River. more developments will take place around the river corridor. —
Photo by CHAN TAK KONG
Other areas mentioned are Jalan Ampang, where a 60-storey tower has been
approved at the location where the former mansion Bok House used to stand.
Over in Bangsar, Ahmad Phesal said apart from the redevelopment of the Sri
Pahang flats, a 40-storey tower had been planned near the Bangsar LRT
station.
He also confirms receiving a submission from TNB for a mixed development
project to develop Lot 61 near Bangsar. This is where the former Unilever
building was located.
In the Bukit Bintang area near Pavilion Mall, there will be several
developments by Berjaya and YTL, including the upcoming Tradewinds Centre
comprising several high-rise towers.
The most dramatic transformation is anticipated in Kampung Baru. At least
seven super structures are expected to be built in the Malay enclave
encompassing an area of over 8.3million sq m. This, Ahmad Phesal said, was three
times the size of KLCC.
The projects under construction include a 40-storey tower with offices for
the Federal Territory Islamic Religious Council (Mawip), mixed development,
hotel and serviced apartments, the Raja Bot market and Masjid Jamek which are
carried out by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), Uda Holdings and Safuan Group
Bhd.
Apart from putting Kuala Lumpur on the world map, the developments, he said,
would create job opportunities for thousands of people in the future.
Ahmad Phesal: Because of land scarcity in the city,
future developments have to grow vertically.
Ahmad Phesal said that because of land scarcity in the city, future
developments had to grow vertically. The more expensive the land, the higher the
tower.
“We are currently processing the submissions for some of these developments
and if there are no objections, construction of some of the projects will start
as early as June,’’ he said.
Seamless connection
“Having said that, I would like to stress that we will not compromise on plot
ratio and infrastructure.
“While we move ahead towards the future with new developments, we are trying
to balance that without compromising on the quality of life of KL residents,’’
Ahmad Phesal said.
He added that talks were under way with developers to ensure that buildings
were well planned to create more open spaces and for better infrastructure such
as pedestrian walkways.
“We want buildings to be connected to each other, more trees and greenery,
and walkways that link to public transportation systems such as the monorail,
LRT and MRT,’’ he added.
Ahmad Phesal said they were negotiating with the developers to ensure future
buildings in Kuala Lumpur are linked to each other, and are connected to the
public transportation system to spur business and add value to the development
in the future.
Maintaining green policy
Dispelling talk that more open space would be sacrificed, Ahmad Phesal
reiterated that DBKL would not compromise on its green policy and that special
incentives would be given to developers who promote green living.
He explained that DBKL imposed guidelines on developers to ensure that 10% of
their total area was set aside for green space.
“We won’t sacrifice our green policy. Developers must provide a minimum of
10%, for green space at ground level, and if it’s not possible on the ground,
they have to ensure that space is allocated inside or at the podium level.
On the possibility of having developments that incorporate rooftop and
vertical gardens such as those in Singapore and Europe, Ahmad Phesal said there
were several proposals to incorporate them as part of the Government’s
initiative for more green belts within the city centre.
More to be built: A view of brickfields, one of the
areas identified for the development of skyscrapers. — filepic
He added that the draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 laid out a series of
goals and policies to achieve environmental, social and economic development
simultaneously for Kuala Lumpur, therefore enhancing green network and blue
corridor where parks, green space, and rivers will benefit cities
tremendously.
“The River of Life (RoL) project is coming along well. Ekovest (Properties
Sdn Bhd) will develop 5.9ha of land within Precinct 1 under the RoL.
“Here the land along the river near Setapak and Gombak will be transformed
into a vibrant recreation area,’’ he said.
“We will leverage on our rivers and parks to create a socially, economically
and environmentally-friendly city.
“My vision is to see a network of high quality, accessible parks and green
spaces that promote recreation, health, education and economic regeneration, to
make Kuala Lumpur a significantly more attractive city in which to live and
work,’’ he said.
Protecting heritage buildings
Another crucial element that cannot be ignored is heritage. Ahmad Phesal
acknowledged that the colonial and heritage buildings in Kuala Lumpur were
unique and special and were an asset to the country.
“As we are striving to reach the top 20 liveable cities of the world, we
recognise the importance of protecting places with significant cultural heritage
as a way to enhance the city’s sense of identity and preserve our history for
future generations,’’ he said.
Site for development: Bok House (pic), a neo-Classical
mansion in Kuala Lumpur, was demolished in 2006. A 60-storey tower has been
approved at the location where the former mansion used to stand. —
filepic
“We appreciate buildings such as the Vivekananda Ashram and old buildings
such as Sultan Abdul Samad, which is why we have now started an inventory
identifying old buildings with heritage value.
“Currently we have indentified Jalan Raja, Jalan Tunku Abdul Rahman, Leboh
Pasar, and Lebuh Ampang as heritage zones.
Ahmad Phesal elaborated that DBKL was talking to the building owners in Lebuh
Ampang and Jalan TAR on maintaining the spirit and ambience as well as the
heritage elements of the respective areas when doing upgrading work.
“We have told them that they can only develop until the 14th floor, but must
retain the ambience of the place,’’ he said, adding that DBKL would spend
between RM10 and RM20mil to conserve old buildings in Sungai Besi.
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