THE construction of a more than 90-storey-high tower as part of Kg Baru’s redevelopment plans is not set in stone, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said.

He said the plan is still in the architectural concept stage and, should it be green-lighted, construction would only be undertaken by the private sector and not the government.

“(The construction of the tower) is also a proposal; just an architect’s idea for an iconic tower.

“Commercial buildings will be built by companies, such as Petronas, CIMB or Felda,” Khalid told The Malaysian Insight.

He said as the plan has yet to be finalised, discussions would likely be held on such commercial developments and any decision would take into account market demand.

“The development will not take place immediately; it will take 10 to 20 years of planning.

“(For example,) KLCC was not built in five to six years. Even KLCC has an unfinished phase in construction.

“It will take time. If there is no demand, the tower will not be built,” he said.

Khalid said the current priority is to first acquire the land, which is in the hands of private owners, on which the development is proposed to sit on.

“The details of the development will need the consent of the people first. Once everyone has agreed to start the sale process, we will finalise it.

“Only when these are finalised can we reveal more details on the plan… this is just the beginning,” the Shah Alam MP said.

Khalid also assured that priority will be given to the construction of residential areas in Kg Baru, set to roll out within 10 years.

A Kg Baru Development Corporation officer said the acquisition of the land should be prioritised as without it, no development could take place.

“The government is focused on acquiring the land first and then finalising a development plan. “This is because we have come up with many concepts and plans in the past that have not come to fruition,” he said.

The proposed development plan involves 10 components, including 11.3ha of heritage and cultural parks.

Land opposite the heritage park has been proposed for the development of the Park View Residency.

The plan also includes affordable residential housing, as well as high-density housing areas.

In the Kg Baru redevelopment proposal, about 45,000 homes, or 50% of all housing, will comprise affordable housing units, compared with 4,500 existing homes.

The development is expected to accommodate 160,000 people in an 85 million sq ft area.

The plan also incorporates mixed and commercial developments, such as towers, offices and hotels, over nine million sq ft. About 10% of the floor space has been allocated to affordable commercial units.

The commercial plan includes about 825 lots, involving 5,359 current landowners.

Putrajaya’s initial offer of RM850 per sq ft to the landowners was, however, met with derision, as many claimed the amount was far below market price. – September 29, 2019.