BY ANGIE NG
angie@thestar.com.my
New infrastructure connectivity and KL address open up new opportunities in KL East.
Aerial view of Kuala Lumpur facing the Gombak River.
KUALA Lumpur is one of the most robust growth centres in the country given its status as the country’s capital city and being the business and financial hub, but the pace of development and progress in the various corridors differs based on the distance to the city centre, demographics and infrastructure connectivity, among other considerations.
While the southern and western corridors are making leapfrog progress in terms of the sprouting up of new growth centres and infrastructure developments, the eastern corridor, dubbed KL East, is also catching up given that a number of new infrastructure projects especially highways, roads and rail connectivity are underway and will act as catalyst of progress to spearhead more rapid growth in KL East.
A tourist feeding pigeons at Batu Caves.
Fringing the city centre, KL East covers quite a big swathe of land stretching from Wangsa Maju, Gombak, Ulu Klang, Ampang, Rampai, Setiawangsa to Maluri.
Infrastructure connectivity such as Duta- Ulu Klang Expressway (DUKE), Ampang- Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway (AKLEH), Kuala Lumpur Middle Ring Road 1 and 2 (MRR1 and MRR2), and LRT services with stations in Masjid Jamek – KLCC to Jelatek, Sri Rampai, Setiawangsa, Wangsa Maju and Gombak as well as Masjid Jamek – KLCC to Maluri and Pandan Jaya, have promoted growth in this corridor.
Future growth will be spurred by new infrastructure developments that
are underway, including new proposed highways such as Sungai Besi – Ulu Klang Elevated Expressway that will link up Sungai Besi, Alam Damai and Ampang – Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway, and East Klang Valley Expressway from Sungai Pusu in Gombak to Bandar Sungai Long in Kajang that will become part of the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR).
Ho Chin Soon’s Locational Centre of Gravity for Greater KL map shows KL East is being spiced up by new infrastructure projects.
According to Ho Chin Soon Research Sdn Bhd, KL East is located in close proximity to the city centre and most of the addresses there are in the first tier location in Ho Chin Soon’s Locational Centre of Gravity for Greater KL, which is within 20km away from Kuala Lumpur city centre.
“These are all mature areas. Gombak still has plenty of villages and Malay reserve land, and the pockets of development here are generally a bit cheaper compared to areas like Wangsa Maju, Ampang and Sri Rampai. Wangsa Maju has a growing number of affluent Malays in the area. As it is already mature, you have pockets of high-rise development which are not cheap. Nevertheless, the location is strategic,” the research house observes.
For property players, there are still pockets of small holding land that hold potential for development. Except for Gombak, most of the other areas are targeted at the upper middle class segment.
It says although high-rise projects offer lesser capital appreciation opportunity compared to landed houses, given that they are in mature areas, it shouldn’t go wrong in terms of location.
Ho Chin Soon Research says the ongoing infrastructure projects will enhance the accessibility and raise the profile of KL East.
For example, the East Klang Valley Expressway is slated for completion in 2018 and will be an alternative to the existing MRR2 during peak hours.
A view of the traffic free Ampang-Kuala Lumpur Elevated Highway leading out to Jalan Tun Razak (North Bound).
It says among the high-rise residential developments that are underway in Ampang are M City, Astoria and Arte+, while in Gombak, KL Traders Square is coming up and The Parc Tower in Sri Rampai. In Wangsa Maju and Setiwangsa area, Wangsa 9 Residency, Irama Wangsa and Seasons Garden Residences are underway, in Ulu Klang area there is Nadayu 62 and Selayang Star City in Selayang.
Property consultancy VPC Alliance (KL) Sdn Bhd managing director James Wong says KL East is considered a mature area with only small parcels of land for development and its population consists of all types of income group from lower to upper income groups.
Besides new highway linkages, there are also road widening of a few main roads, new private hospital like Columbia Asia in Setapak, a sports complex development which comprises swimming pool, boxing arena, rock climbing area, futsal centre, a library along Jalan Ayer Jerneh in Setapak, and Maluri MRT Station Line.
Wong says there is also the revitalisation of the Gombak River into a heritage and commercial centre to look forward to.
“We believe there is a need to enhance the current access road system
by widening the other smaller roads and opening up more accessibility to other major highways. Besides that, another way to promote growth in this corridor is by having LRT extension lines in locations such as Sri Gombak (along Jalan Genting Klang/Jalan Gombak), Desa Pandan and Desa Melawati.
“DBKL also plans to upgrade drainage in most major places in KL East. With
the better accessibility and better facilities, evidently more developers have been attracted to develop projects in KL East, particularly affordable housing schemes,” Wong says.
Savills Malaysia deputy managing director Paul Khong.
VPC Alliance (KL) Sdn Bhd managing director James Wong.
Growth catalysts
Although KL East is an active zone with an increasing number of development projects underway, particularly in areas near to the Kuala Lumpur city centre like Wangsa Maju, Gombak and Setapak, Wong says one advantage enjoyed by the locality is that it is less crowded compared to the other corridors in the Klang Valley, which makes traffic movement in the area quite smooth.
He points out that in some parts of Gombak, there are Malay reserve land which is hampering redevelopment.
“Under DBKL’s new planning land use development draft 'Cadangan Guna Tanah DGP Kampung Traditional', they have restricted certain areas in Gombak by reducing the density and plot ratio in these places,” he adds.
Savills Malaysia deputy managing director Paul Khong concurs that the infrastructure linkages have markedly improved the accessibility to the KL East corridor.
“The eastern corridor has been quite well opened up by the DUKE Highway, which now connects MRR2 on the east to the western neighbourhood (that avoids the city centre and all its traffic jams) and to the New Klang Valley Expressway. Many new projects have now been refocused towards this highway as a marketing point for easy accessibility,” Khong explains.
The addressess in this corridor are located within mature neighbourhoods in Kuala Lumpur and there are still some pockets of land available for development further away from the city.
Khong says many of the older industrial areas in the vicinity have also outlived their economic life and may be ripe for redevelopment moving forward, while areas such as Wangsa Maju, Setiawangsa and Ampang are now much more accessible to the west end.
“With land prices escalating around the city, it may be timely for redevelopment of some of these areas, especially those which are located within the city limits. Towards the eastern side, the Hulu Langat Forest Reserve wraps around this corridor, thus limiting the growth of the city eastwards.
“There are a lot of potential for new projects within this eastern neighbourhood and many higher-end projects are being undertaken by big developers on sizeable parcels of land like Sunway Montana and KL East. There are also the new SUKE and the KLORR highways networking through this entire stretch.”
Land parcels in the city centre are becoming scarce and have risen in value especially in the last three years. When prices reach a certain level, it makes sense to redevelop these areas as many older uses on prominent sites may have outlived their economic life.
Khong points out that the main problem is that it is rather tedious or virtually impossible to amalgamate individual lots or strata lots into a sizeable plot for a meaningful redevelopment exercise and there is still no proper legislation to govern this. This is different from Singapore’s clear guideline that as long as there is an 80% consensus, an area or old building can be redeveloped.
Some viable ideas for development of new townships and infrastructure projects in KL East include projects that provide lots of green lung and promote nature living themes, better security features within gated and guarded concepts, well-planned and self-contained townships with full amenities, sizeable township projects that offer better access to shopping, education, entertainment and healthcare facilities in a single location, and good infrastructure and proximity to MRT stations.
On how the location’s proximity to KL’s Golden Triangle will promote growth in the corridor, Khong says: “Ultimately, most city dwellers would like to stay as close to the city centre as possible. This reduces travelling time and generally property values are higher when distance is shorter.”
But the main issue is that land gets more expensive as they get closer to the city, he says, adding that Kuala Lumpur’s skyline has become pretty much well built and the best parcels are heading towards RM4,000 per sq ft.
“At these prices, the plot ratio will exceed 10 and the end product is also extremely pricey. Due to the scarcity of land in the Golden Triangle, many developers are looking towards the fringe neighbourhoods as the next best location for development. Lying closer to the city guarantees easier accessibility and the travelling time is shorter.
“As land price in the city has gone too expensive, many purchasers will now opt for the second tier locations as the next best alternative, and this is where places like KL East will be sought after,” Kwong concludes.
