Putrajaya: Reaching The Peak Of Prominence
Once a thick jungle existing alongside palm oil plantations, the Putrajaya of today has vastly transformed into what is now known as the Federal Administrative Centre of Malaysia due to the Government’s initiative.
Historically, Putrajaya used to be known as Prang Besar which was founded in 1918 and named as Air Hitam by the British. Initially covering a land area spanning 800 acres which then expanded to 8,000 acres, Putrajaya later merged with other surrounding estates including Estet Raja Alang Estate, Galloway Estate and Bukit Prang Estate.
This corporate city was named after the first Malaysian Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.
Its territory is entirely enclaved within the Sepang District of the state of Selangor.
This planned city now known as the Federal Territory of Putrajaya is also part of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) of Malaysia which is in essence, a special economic zone covering the Klang Valley.
This city is the brainchild of former Prime Minister of Malaysia Tun Dato’ Seri Dr Mahathir Mohamad which was given the city status following Kuala Lumpur and Labuan in the year 2001.
The census from 2015 states Putrajaya has a population of 88,300 persons.
Its meridien coordinates for travellers is 2.9430952°N 101.699373°E.
PUTRAJAYA – COMING INTO ITS PRIME
Putrajaya city was intended to be a centralised Government whereby most of the offices were relocated from the congested capital city of Kuala Lumpur.
Construction work on Putrajaya began in August 1995 when the area was considered Malaysia’s biggest project and one of Southeast Asia’s largest, with an estimated total cost of USD8.1 billion (RM34.26 billion).
The entire township was designed and constructed by Malaysian companies with only 10% of the materials being imported. As of 2012, almost all of Malaysia’s Governmental Ministries had relocated to Putrajaya. Putrajaya also has twin-city status with Cyberjaya and Sejong City in South Korea.
Today, Putrajaya has transformed into a sough-after city where world leaders and dignitaries hold high-powered meetings and sessions here.
It has grown into a tremendous city of viability and is the epitome of futuristic inclinations leaning towards a centralised Governmental engine for the nation. Some of the notable public buildings include Perdana Putra which is the official office of the Prime Minister while Seri Perdana is the official home of the Prime Minister and Sri Satria is the official residence of the Deputy Prime Minister. The Palace of Justice and Wisma Putra (Ministry of Foreign Affairs) are other buildings in Putrajaya.
In addition, the township also has its own Putrajaya Landmark area in which the Millenium Monument and National Heroes Square take pride of place.
Putrajaya is also planned as a garden city and intelligent city with 38% of the area reserved for green spaces where the emphasis is on the natural landscape.
In line with this objective, there is the Putrajaya Lake and Putrajaya Wetlands Park as well as the Putrajaya Botanical Gardens representing the largest botanical garden in Malaysia covering an area spanning over 227 acres.
TOWN PLANNING STATUS
Principal of FA Planning Consultant and Lecturer at University of Malaya TPr. Dr. Faizah Ahmad shares that there are seven focused areas in Putrajaya.
These include planning; urban design and building; integrating nature into the urban fabric; transportation and mobility; energy usage and water usage; waste management as well as city administration and management,”
The Structure Plan Sustainable Putrajaya 2025 gazetted on March 7, 2014 will transform Putrajaya from a Garden City to a Green City. This can be achieved via the improvement of the quality of the living environment by ensuring that urban activities and developments reduce carbon emission, encourage green businesses and a green lifestyle.
She adds that Putrajaya is surrounded by highly populated areas such as Puchong, Cyberjaya, Kajang, Bangi and the whole southern corridor of the Klang Valley.
The Current Population Estimates, Malaysia 2017 reported the estimated population of Putrajaya in 2017 to be 86,900 which represents a 2.9% annual growth rate from an estimated population of 84,400 in 2016.
Putrajaya’s planned population by 2025 is 347,700 while Sepang District’s estimated population in 2017 is 252,300. The current population of Cyberjaya is estimated at 70,000 and is planned to support a living population of 240,000 by 2020.
Faizah says that Putrajaya will continue to be the major economic catalyst inducing urban growth in the Greater Kuala Lumpur conurbation’s Southern Corridor. She adds that Putrajaya is a great choice with its more comprehensive green infrastructure, lifestyle, health and educational facilities, high accessibility and intra-city or inter-city connectivity.
“The transformation to Green City (status) will be more visible with the implementation of the Low Carbon Green Transportation and the scheduled completion of the Mass Rapid Transit 2 (MRT2) Sungai Buluh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) and Putrajaya Sentral MRT station.
“Then, there’s the Kuala Lumpur–Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) link with a stop in Putrajaya complemented by the Putrajaya-Cyberjaya tram services, and other environmentally-friendly features,” asserts Faizah on Putrajaya further.
DEVELOPMENTS IN PUTRAJAYA
One of the prominent projects in Putrajaya is S P Setia Berhad Group’s Setia Seraya Residences which is a condominium with a gross development value (GDV) of RM246 million. Standing tall at 40 storeys with a total of 363 units, the development is situated on 4.54 acres of freehold land in Precinct 15, Putrajaya.
The project comprises three layouts namely Type A’s three-bedroom and two-bathroom units featuring 1,002 sq ft of built-up area and Type B’s four-bedroom and three-bathroom units with 1,202 sq ft of built-up area. Type C’s three-bedroom and two-bathroom plus veranda (lanai) units feature 1,420 sq ft of built-up area.
Putrajaya Holdings Sdn Bhd, being the master developer of Putrajaya city also launched its Astana Residence project here last year.
The freehold luxury lakefront villa development which is situated at Precinct 8 is the first gated and guarded landed residential project in Putrajaya with an estimated gross development value (GDV) of RM234.47 million. The project comprises 58 units of two-and-a-half as well as three and three-and-a-half-storey villa homes with built-up sizes ranging from 5,348 sq ft to 6,456 sq ft.
Nawawi Tie Leung Property Consultants Managing Director Dato’ Nawawi Mohd Arshad says that the selling price of Astana Residence’s villas averages RM680 psf, with the minimum selling price starting from RM3.68 million. He adds that the development is set to be completed in 2018.
Putrajaya he adds also represents a choice location for long-term investors and upgraders.
Other landed property projects by Putrajaya Holdings include the Turnberry two-storey linked homes located at Precinct 11.
Another project at the same Precinct is Fera comprising a three-storey twin villa with six bedrooms and bathrooms. This project features 62 luxury twin villas with built-up areas of up to 5,026 sq ft and land areas of up to 7,707 sq ft.
Nawawi also adds that there are vacant detached plots available at Precinct 8, 10 and 11 priced at about RM138 psf with the transacted price going at RM1.2 million.
The townhouses located at Precinct 16 meanwhile has seen the transacted prices increase to RM430,000 last year. Recent condominium projects like the Sarjana Aster Condominium which features three bedrooms and two bathrooms located at Precinct 11 in Putrajaya was transacted at around RM480,000.
Meanwhile, S P Setia’s Dwiputra Residence at Precinct 15 which is located at the Southern Growth Corridor situated about 25km from Kuala Lumpur was transacted at RM565 psf.
According to Nawawi, all of the 440 units are already sold out. He adds that the recent transacted commercial property comprised a three-storey shop office that fetched RM2.0 million last year. A notable mixed-use development in Putrajaya is Shaftbury Avenue comprising retail lots and serviced apartments.
The launch price for the retail project was priced between RM1,200 psf and RM1,800 psf while the the serviced aparments were priced from RM728 psf to RM875 psf. The expected completion date of this project is 2018.
Transasia Property Consultancy Sdn Bhd Real Estate Agent Hairil Wahiri says Putrajaya is surrounded by many new development.
These include residential and commercial developments such as IOI Resort City, Malaysia Vision Valley, Serinia City, Cyberjaya, Bandar Enstek, Kota Seriemas which all indirectly act as catalysts for Putrajaya.
Hairil adds that a few of the most recently launched and future developments in this township include the terraced hyperlink units named Duta Villa located at Precinct 14 and the semi-detached Astana Residences at Precinct 8 as well as the Augusta project at Precinct 12. Meanwhile, the Aura Residensi condominium project is located at Precinct 8 while the Flora Rosa development is at Precinct 11.”
He adds that Putrajaya offers integrated infrastructure facilities for residents that was developed based on two underlying concept which namely portrays Putrajaya as a sustainable as well as intelligent city. Already, one third of Putrajaya is reserved as a green area with Cyberjaya being developed just around the corner.
Putrajaya is accessible by highways and public transportation such as buses, taxis and rail lines supported by Park and Ride (P&R) facilities complemented by a network of pedestrian walkways and bicycle lanes. The intra-city public bus services (Nadi Putra) is also provided by Putrajaya Corporation.
The Express Rail Link (ERL) meanwhile connects Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya to Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Highway links include the North-South Expressway Central Link, North-South Expressway, Putrajaya-Cyberjaya Expressway, South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE), Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong and Maju Expressway (MEX).
Highways and upcoming public transport such as the Multi Rapid Transit (MRT2) Sungai Buluh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line, the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High-Speed Rail (HSR), Electric Vehicle (EV) Bus Demonstration project and Putrajaya-Cyberjaya tram services are expected to further improve accessibility and connectivity to Putrajaya.
Nik says that the most recently launched projects here include
S P Setia’s Setia Seraya Residences comprising high-end condominium units in Precinct 15 and Putrajaya Holdings’ Precinct 11. Besides that, there will be the construction of MRT Phase 2 and THE HSR train to Singapore. This would improve the transportation system and shorten travelling time.
The development is easily accessible via Maju Expressway (MEX), Damansara-Puchong Expressway (LDP) and Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) which lead to Puchong, Subang Jaya and Klang. Travellling to Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) and Nilai is possible via the North South Expressway Central Link (ELITE) and South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE).
Hairil says future infrastructure coming into the area include the Multi Rapid Transit (MRT) via the Sungai Buluh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) line and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore HSR which will further ease the township’s transportation challenges.
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