SP Setia To Put Up Rail Hub In KL Eco City
SP Setia Bhd, one of the country’s leading developers, is investing up to RM30 million to put up an integrated rail transport hub at its RM6 billion KL Eco City mixed development in Kuala Lumpur.
The company is constructing a KTM commuter station, which will be incorporated with the existing Abdullah Hukum light rail transit (LRT) station at the project location by the year 2013.
Executive vice president Richard Ong said SP Setia is in the process of completing the design proposals intended for the KTM station with the rail authorities.
“Subject to the authorities’ requirements, the KTM station is estimated to cost around RM30 million,” Ong told Business Times.
SP Setia, through its unit KL Eco City Sdn Bhd (KLEC), is developing KL Eco City on the former Kampung Haji Abdullah Hukum site at the end of Jalan Bangsar. The 10-year development will contain a number of residential towers, offices and a 5.7 million sq ft retail podium.
Ong said KLEC has started initial works on the site such as earthworks, tests piles and transferring of existing utility services, as well as realignment of Sungai Pantai (river diversion works).
Substructure works which includes piling and foundation are likely to begin in two months, said Ong, who happens to be KLEC project director.
Ong said these are part of the construction works for Phase One of the project, comprising 12 blocks of boutique offices, a strata office and a corporate office tower on a four-storey retail podium, worth almost RM2 billion.
SP Setia will build a pedestrian bridge connecting KL Eco City and The Gardens at Mid Valley City to further enhance the Malaysia property development.
In the meantime, SP Setia will invest RM150 million to connect KL Eco City to the Federal Highway by the use of two dedicated ramps.
The ramps will allow traffic in the direction towards Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur to gain direct access into KL Eco City and to leave the development directly onto the Federal Highway.
There will also be linkages to Jalan Maarof in Bangsar through Lingkaran Syed Putra. KL Eco City will also have direct access to and from the New Pantai Expressway (NPE) using the existing Jalan Pantai Baru and Jalan Bangsar interchange.
Ong said SP Setia has obtained all the essential approvals from the pertinent authorities concerning the design proposals for the ramps and the linkages.
“Tenders have been called and the evaluation process and award is expected to be completed in the next two to three months,” he said.