Digital Cities of the 21th Century

The second phase of I-Berhad’s integrated commercial development in Shah Alam, Selangor, is expected to kick off later this year, its top executive said. Chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew said the phase covering 3.64ha has a gross development value (GDV) of over RM150 million. It will offer between 300,000 sq ft and 400,000 sq ft of office space. The construction cost will be between RM30 million and RM40 million and completion is due in 2013. “The idea behind phase two will be to support (a) technopreneur campus concept,” Eu told reporters after a visit by former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to i-City yesterday.

i-City is a 29ha RM2 billion project that boasts broadband speed of 20Mbps, with fibre optics network and a back-up power supply. The first phase, comprising 6.1ha of land with 500,000 sq ft of office space, is now 60 per cent occupied. I-Bhd plans to complete the Cybercentre office suites, also known as CityWalk South, during the second phase. It plans to build office towers and a one million sq ft shopping mall in future phases as well. According to Eu, i-City aims to attract Silicon Valley based companies that are looking to expand overseas.

Apart from i-City having a technologically advanced state-of-the-art infrastructure, the Selangor state government also will focus on other elements of the Silicon Valley-like ecosystem. This includes developing the entrepreneurial talent pool, organising programmes to connect entrepreneurs with venture capital partners and getting universities to play a higher level of support for industries. “They have the business model and technology but may not be relevant in this market. So, they are looking for joint venture partners to localise for them so that when they go for an initial public offering their value will be higher,” he said.