RM43bil to give Kampung Baru a facelift

Things to come: Muhyiddin looking at an image of the Kampung Baru Detailed Development Master Plan 2020. Looking on are PKB chairman Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz (left) and Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor. — AZLINA ABDULLAH / The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Kampung Baru is set to undergo a massive transformation over the next 20 years in an ambitious undertaking costing some RM43bil, said Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

In years to come, residents of the 113-year-old village at the fringe of KLCC will get new public housing, recreational facilities, a heritage and arts centre, an MRT station and a scenic waterfront courtesy of drainage engineering that will also mitigate occasional overflows from Sungai Bunus.

Speaking at the launch of the Kampung Baru Detailed Develop­ment Master Plan 2020 here yesterday, Muhyiddin said Kampung Baru would morph into an iconic Malay settlement that will change the landscape of the city centre.

“The 122ha land is three times the size of the KLCC development, and once it undergoes these upgrades, it will increase property prices and improve the economic standing of residents there,” he said.

Muhyiddin said discussion and focus groups as well as outreach programmes had been conducted by the Kampung Baru Development Corporation (PKB) to inform residents on the massive project.

“So far, we have been receiving good feedback, but we also have a group which is resisting development,” he said, adding that programmes would be held to inform this group on how they could benefit from the proposed development.

He expressed optimism that when the benefits of the project were presented, it would not be difficult to convince this group to get on board.

However, Muhyiddin also warned that should this group insist on blocking the project with a gross development value of RM61bil, then the law would be used, adding that the project was expected to generate 46,237 jobs by 2035.

Muhyiddin said the number of residents was expected to grow in tandem with the development, with authorities projecting it to increase to about 77,000 from the current headcount of 18,372 residents. - The Star