BY CAITLYN NG LI YUIN
liyuin@ocision.com

Sungai Besi is now seeing a surge in growth and development, after decades of being known as a sleepy tin mining town.

Sungai Besi airport.

THE Iron River may sound like a place straight out of a movie, but it is actually a direct translation of the Malay name of a place located in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur: Sungai Besi. It was once a historical tin mining town that has since enjoyed rapid progress and is now a vibrant area filled with people from all walks of life. It's not surprising to see the roads packed with heavy vehicles and the multitude of cars containing visitors who have come from afar to check out the famous seafood eateries available.

We decided to take a look at this area which, while predominantly industrial, still holds plenty of room for other aspects such as residential, entertainment and commercial. The transacted prices involved have been gathered from the Property Market Report 2014 of the Jabatan Penilaian dan Perkhidmatan Harta (JPPH).

There are plenty of developments that can be found within the vicinity of Sungai Besi, most notably the Sungai Besi Airport, which has historical nuances. It was once the main civilian airport for Kuala Lumpur, used in 1952 until the Subang International Airport took over as the main airport in 1965. The base was handed over to the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) in 1960 and is in use by them, as well as the air unit of the Police and Fire Rescue services.

Also on site is the Royal Malaysian Air Force Museum, which officially opened its doors to the public in 1985. Within the grounds and hangars are various aircraft used by the RMAF during their years of service, including the Scottish Aviation Twin Pioneer – the first aircraft acquired for the newly formed RMAF squadron at that time.

Located opposite the road from the aviation base is the Kawasan Perindustrian Trisegi, which is essentially an industrial area that is home to many factories, offices, and automobile service centres such as Porsche, Honda, and BMW. Here, due to the large land area and the number of companies present, it can be seen in Table 1 that the prices of industrial property in Trisegi is on a steady increase; at least a 5.3% increase from 2013 to 2014.

Source: JPPH

Further south in Sungai Besi is a recent development called The Trillium, a modern steel-and-glass project by YTL Land & Development. Completed in 2010, this project is also known as The Trillium @ Lake Fields and consists of three-storey shop offices. There is a total of 100 leasehold units that come with a built-up from 4,805 sq ft, and this project was developed with the aim to revamp the image of the retail and commercial precinct in Sungai Besi. The Trillium sees a similar popularity with buyers and investors, as can be seen in Table 2 and 3 above.

Table 2 shows that the shops located on the ground floor enjoyed an average increase in the rental price of 15.9% from 2013 to 2014. Table 3 shows that the office spaces located on the other floors enjoyed an average increase in the rental price of 2.8% from 2013 to 2014.

Accessibility-wise, this project enjoys some of the best connections to public transportation systems. The Sungai Besi LRT Station on the Sri Petaling line can easily be reached on foot, while the Serdang KTM Komuter station is a mere 10-minute drive away. To add on to the convenience of exit and entry, the Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS), located at Bandar Tasik Selatan, is also a 10-minute drive away. These three hubs will provide a form of alternative transport to the rest of the city and beyond.

We now take a look at the residential aspect of the Sungai Besi area. One such place is the Pantai Hillpark Apartments, a project also by YTL Land & Development in conjunction with the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). It is located on a 36-hectare piece of leasehold land and consists of a few phases, namely Pantai Hillpark Phase 1, Pantai Hillpark Phase 2, Pantai Hillpark Phase 3, Pantai Hillpark Phase 5 and Centrio Pantai Hillpark.

With such a central location, near the established enclaves of Bangsar South and Bukit Pantai, residents are ensured of good accessibility via three major highways – Federal Highway, New Pantai Expressway (NPE) and Kerinchi Link. In Table 4 above, with two readings to be had, it can still be seen that the average price change reflects the popularity of the property.

Overall, the area of Sungai Besi shows plenty of promise as it continues to expand and welcome new residents, businesses, and investors. With plenty of facilities and amenities available, coupled with excellent accessibility, Sungai Besi is a town that manages to seamlessly blend tradition with modernity.