Chairman Datuk Lim Kim Hong said the gross development value of the 72-acre development had also been revised upwards from RM1.5bil to RM2bil.
“We are heeding the advice of the Mentri Besar of Selangor to complete this project within five years. We will do our best to achieve this objective,” he told StarBiz at the 2nd International Symposium on Knowledge Cities held in Shah Alam last week.
The symposium was hosted by the Selangor state government and co-organised by the Malaysian Institute of Planners (MIP), Shah Alam City Council, Madinah Municipality of Saudi Arabia and the Arab Urban Development Institute (AUDI).
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, AUDI president Sheikh Abdullah Al-Nuaim and Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo witnessed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Shah Alam City and Medina City at the opening ceremony cum dinner last Monday.
Najib, in his opening speech, said every great civilisation had its roots in knowledge and the Islamic civilisation saw the rise of great cities such as Baghdad and Damascus where eminent scholars converged.
However, the Muslim world later became weaker, with big cities like London, Paris and Rome becoming centres of science and discovery.
He said the ideal city of the 21st century must be equipped with knowledge infrastructure. “Successful cities of the future must be cities of knowledge. It should be planned with broadband coverage to facilitate the flow of information,” he added.
Najib, who later viewed a model of the i-City, said the project was in line with the Ninth Malaysia Plan to promote knowledge-based economy.
I-Bhd chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew, in his paper, said i-City could serve as a pilot project for transforming Shah Alam into a Knowledge City.
However, to do this, Eu said, i-City needed the support of the state such as investment in laying the broadband infrastructure throughout the city; continuation of the state's e-government programme so that all government services could be conducted through the web, and educating the community on living in the digital era.
“There should also be incentives such as a safe tax haven and duty-free zone for businesses to operate in the area and trade incentives like direct links with duty-free ports for those businesses that tap into the Knowledge City fabric,” he said, adding that i-City would help re-establish Shah Alam as a premier location for foreign investment.
“The image and publicity associated with the ICT Zone will help Shah Alam compete with other Multimedia Super Corridor areas in the country,” he added.
Another speaker, Eastern Regional Organisation for Housing and Planning (Earoph) honorary president K.C. Leong said fast urbanisation coupled with globalisation had caused an urban population explosion, putting enormous strain on the infrastructure in many developing countries.
He said poor management of public services had led to corruption and major infrastructure failures had also caused social unrest.
“Earoph has set up the Asia Pacific Institute for Good Asset Management (APIGAM) to promote the science and technology of systemic asset management for infrastructure assets,” he said.
Shah Alam mayor Mazalan Md Noor said Selangor, in particular Shah Alam City, was honoured to host the symposium, held for the first time outside the Middle East.
Mazalan said knowledge cities possessed an economy that was driven by high value-added exports and where knowledge was accessible to all citizens.
“Knowledge cities are also cities where there is strong partnership between city leaders and community groups. We very much aspire to make Shah Alam such a city,” he said.
He added that it was also an honour for Shah Alam City to be chosen to collaborate with the City of Medina in the field of culture and management.
Autor(en)/Author(s): S.C. CHEAH
Quelle/Source: Malaysia Star, 23.07.2007
