Phase 1 of KLIFD ready by 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: The first phase of the RM26bil Kuala Lumpur International Financial District (KLIFD) is expected to be operational by 2016 to coincide with the completion of the first line of the country’s mass rapid transit (MRT) system.

“It is important to integrate the development of the KLIFD with the MRT. That is why we hope to get the first phase of the KLIFD ready by 2016,” said 1MDB Real Estate Sdn Bhd chief operating officer Datuk Azmar Talib (pic).

1Malaysia Development Bhd, 1MDB Real Estate’s parent company, is the government unit that owns the 75-acre on which the KLIFD will be developed.

The land is in the Imbi area fronting Jalan Tun Razak, and the project is one of the entry point projects under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Azmar said the entire KLIFD, which would group local and overseas financial institutions and other corporations in a single area, would take about 20 years to complete.

“We are still at the master planning stage. We will get to the pre-qualifiation of contractors and developers stage later,” he said at a roundtable session with the media here yesterday.

The detailed master plan is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of next year, while construction is on track to start in June, Azmar said.

1MDB director for investments Tan Hwa Min noted that there were several ways to raise funds for the massive project, including bringing in sub-investors.

In October, it was reported that 1MDB would team up with Mubadala Development Co, the investment arm of the Abu Dhabi government, to explore the potential joint development opportunities in the area of real estate and key strategic projects within the KLIFD.

Asked if there would be regulations that would require local banks to set up their operations in the KLIFD, Azmar said: “It is a free market. We will not force anyone to come here, but we believe people will come, both local and international companies.”

The RHB group in October had reportedly been in discussions with 1MDB and Mubadala to be the first banking group to set up its operations in the KLIFD.

For the project, Akitek Jururancang (M) Sdn Bhd and its international partner, Boston-based Machado and Silvetti Associates Inc, had been selected as master planners by 1MDB via an open request for proposal process, Azmar said.

Akitek Jururancang has been involved in several notable Malaysian projects,including the township of Subang Jaya, the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre and Mid-Valley Megamall, while Machado and Silvetti has more than 25 years of experience in architecture and urban design.

The KLIFD is Machado and Silvetti’s first Malaysian project.

Jorge Silvetti, co-founder of Machado and Silvetti, said the KLIFD was not modelled after any particular financial district in the world but “we have learned from others in certain areas as we are not believers of pure innovation”.

About 30% of the KLIFD would comprise greenery, which was a unique feature, Silvetti noted, adding that the development was set to be a “distinctive public realm within the city”.

~ By Star Property Online ~

Source: http://www.starproperty.my/PropertyScene/TheStarOnlineHighlightBox/13854/0/0