Settlement to boast high-rise dwellings
THE new redevelopment plan for Kampung Baru (Kg Baru) in Kuala Lumpur will have 83 million sq ft of residential and commercal floor space, says Kampung Baru Development Corp (KBDC) chief executive officer Zulkurnain Hassan. He said 70 per cent of the floor space would comprise residential dwellings and 30 per cent would be iconic corporate towers and retail complexes.
Zulkurnain said Kg Baru would no longer have landed houses, except for a few “kampung” houses which would be duplicated in a public area in order to preserve the history of the 120-year-old settlement.
“It will all be high-rise dwellings as we want to subsidise the development in Kg Baru. We are looking at building apartments, serviced apartments, condominiums and serviced suites to support the commercial development within and around Kg Baru”.
The estimated gross development value (GDV), based on the new master plan currently being drafted by Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) for the redevelopment of Kg Baru, is RM50 billion to RM60 billion, Zulkurnain told NST Property.
However, the GDV is subject to change based on market conditions and demand, he said.
the main mosque, thus it came up with KBCC. But KBCC didn’t take off due to objections from the land owners.
“KBCC was supposed to be developed over 40 acres (16.19ha) of land which is owned by 150 to 160 individuals. Out of this number, we managed to talk to 90 per cent of the owners. The remaining 10 per cent have passed away and the title was not transferred to their beneficiaries... so that has been a challenge.
“Out of the 90 per cent, not many people agreed to KBCC. About five per cent rejected the development as they wanted the land for their own use. Half of those whom we spoke to agreed to the development if the right price was offered. Some owners were asking for more than RM2,000 per sq ft (psf). Anything less they wouldn’t sell. But we do know the land in Kg Baru doesn’t cost that much,” he said.
Zulkurnain said some of the owners maybe just too comfortable staying where they are now and enjoying the ‘kampung’ environment. “This is why we think they have come up with an unreasonable price tag for their land, because their intention is to stay and not move. So, looking at this situation, we could not guarantee that KBCC will be carried out and this is why we have decided to call off the plan.”
Last month, Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad said the government needed RM10 billion to acquire land in Kg Baru, which could be developed into a modern and integrated settlement of the Malay community in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.
He said a RM10 billion fund was required if all landowners in Kg Baru agreed to accept cash for their land to be developed by the developer to be appointed by DBKL.
The minister had also reportedly said that if all the landowners want cash instead of apartments (in exchange for their land), this would probably be the worst-case scenario as the fund required would be between RM6 billion and RM10 billion.
Zulkurnain said the problem was that one plot may have 20, 50, 70 owners or more and it would be a challenge to get approval from all of them in one go.
Kg Baru has a total land area of 121.4ha administered by KBDC.
There are seven villages that come under “Malay Agriculture Settlement” status spread over 89ha, as well as Chow Kit and the PKNS flats, which combined, cover 32.4ha of area.
The land in Kg Baru (including Chow Kit and the PKNS flat area) is divided into 1,355 lots with around 5,300 registered owners. Of the total 1,355 lots, around 88 per cent, or 1,193, measure less than 11,840 sq ft, or 0.11ha each.