KUALA LUMPUR: Industrial development projects in Malaysia are moving towards a more corporate image, from the previous "workshop" image.

Anthony Chua, executive director of KGV-Lambert Smith Hampton (M) Sdn Bhd said industrial developments now have new features such as the gated & guarded concept, wider roads, underground cabling & covered drainage, facade-glass and lifts.

Speaking at the Third Malaysian Property Summit: The Property Market Outlook for 2010 on Tuesday Jan 26, Chua said recent industrial projects such as the Hedgeford Innovation Park in Petaling Jaya, and the Shamelin Heights Business Park, can be considered boutique and niche developments due to their relatively smaller land size than older industrial estates such as the Bukit Raja Industrial Estate and Pulau Indah Industrial Park which are easily more than 300 acres.

Industrial property transactions is the smallest contributing sub-sector to total property transactions in 2008 in the country, accounting to 2.4% or 8,116 deals valued at RM7.9 billion.

Perak, Sarawak and Sabah were the most active contributing 828, 661 and 498 deals, respectively.

Chua said industrial land has appreciated at an average of 60% to 100% over the last six years, since 2004, looking at the pricing trend of industrial land in Kota Kemuning, Bkt Jelutong, Glenmarie and Balakong.
Values of industrial land in these areas priced at RM30 to RM60 psf in 2004 have gone up to RM50 to RM100 psf in 2009.

Proximity to bustling commercial areas and highways are the main contributing factors to value appreciation.
Chua said the Malaysia industrial property market is still doing good due to rising demand and the growing small and medium entreprises sector.

"Supply for industrial units in KL is stagnant over the last four years while in Selangor, it went up by 4.3%, so there are more demand than supply," he added.

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