Technopreneur campus for i-City in Shah Alam

PETALING JAYA: Selangor’s first technopreneur campus will be set up in i-City, Shah Alam as part of the state government’s efforts to transform Selangor’s economy into a knowledge-economy (K-economy).

The smart township development and the Selangor State Development Corp  (PKNS) will jointly manage the incubation programme for the campus with an initial investment of RM50 million, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim said when announcing the plans on Feb 25.

He added that the state is in the final stages of discussions with US-based Plug and PlayTech Centre of Silicon Valley to provide the investment and incubation expertise while providing a bridge for budding technopreneurs into the US market.

“Simultaneously, i-City would be working with MDeC to provide the technopreneurs with the necessary skills, training and networking opportunities,” he noted.

Meanwhile, the state is also looking at ways to expedite the building of a flyover, which costs about RM50 million in view of the expected increase in traffic with the technopreneur campus in i-City.

PKNS will build the flyover access in exchange for an equivalent value of state land. The access is scheduled for completion in two years.

Khalid said Shah Alam City Council is also setting up an investment centre in I-City that acts as a one-stop location to process all licence requirements.

i-City has been conferred International Park status in October 2008, in an effort to make the township a more vibrant area with family entertainment and cosmopolitan lifestyle outlets as well as the state-of-the-art telecommunication and IT infrastructure.

The status allows the lifestyle outlets in i-City to operate 24 hours, thus making the township the only place in Shah Alam with cinemas, lifestyle outlets such as karaoke and fine dining that are currently permitted to operate only in hotels in the city.

The township is also allowed to host international functions and events, which it has been doing over the past few months, with the new status.

Besides, i-City will also be globally promoted by Tourism Malaysia and Tourism Selangor as a nightspot.