KL Eco City to be launched by April

SHAH ALAM: Top property developer S P Setia Bhd is planning to launch the first phase of the long-awaited RM6 billion Kuala Lumpur Eco City (KLEC) in Bangsar by April.

Speaking to reporters after the company's AGM and EGM here on Wednesday, Feb 23, president and managing director Tan Sri Liew Kee Sin said Phase 1 will consist of one block of a high-rise strata office tower with 232 units, as well as 12 blocks of boutique offices.

These blocks, he added, will be priced at about RM1,000 psf. The boutique offices, for example, will be sold en-bloc at RM70 million, as it covers a space of 70,000 sq ft.

The residential component will then be launched six months after the launch of Phase 1.

KLEC is an urban redevelopment joint-venture project between S P Setia and Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur on a 20-acre plot, which was formerly known as Kampung Abdullah Hukum, located opposite Mid Valley City.

The project, according to Liew, is designed to include four high-rise office towers, four condominium blocks, a serviced apartment block and 12 blocks of boutique office. The project is targeting at an accreditation for a Green Building Index (GBI) rating.

GBI is a green rating tool for buildings to promote sustainability in the built environment.

"We will purchase a 48-storey office block and the 3-storey retail podium located below the boutique offices for our recurring income in the future. Nevertheless, we won't be moving our corporate office there," he added.

He expects the office tower in KLEC will fetch rental similar to those in The Gardens at RM8 psf.

This project signifies that the developer is moving to integrated commercial development, from township development alone.

Several links will be built to connect the existing accesses like Federal Highway, New Pantai Expressway, Jalan Bangsar and Jalan Maarof.

The proposed Mass Rapid Transit (MRT), to be built jointly by Gamuda Bhd and MMC Corporation Bhd, will also have a station on the site. Currently, the plot is accessible via the Light Rail Transit (LRT) and KTM Komuter services.