Digital Cities of the 21th Century

SHAH ALAM: I-Bhd expects 80 more knowledge-based companies to set up offices at i-City, Shah Alam, by the year-end, said chief executive officer Eu Hong Chew. “They will consist of local and international companies and will add up the more than 60 companies currently operating at the city,” he said after signing a heads of agreement yesterday. He added that I-Bhd had so far invested RM200mil to RM300mil to develop the smart city since 2005.

The heads of agreement will see the company forming a tie-up with the Malaysian-Russian Business Association and Hexagon Solutions Sdn Bhd to set up a joint centre of innovation in i-City. The Malaysian-Russian Science Centre will develop, showcase and commercialise technologies from Russia while Hexagon will establish a research and development (R&D) centre with its Indian partner Rajesh Global Solutions. The centre, which will take up 15,000 to 20,000 sq ft of office space in i-City, will also work with local and foreign universities, research institutions and government agencies. Malaysia-Russian Business Association president Ruslan Israpil said the agreement would lead to greater collaboration between two countries. “It will be a win-win situation as we are providing expertise to help local scientists and universities through the R&D of Russian technology while the locals will benefit by getting our knowledge,” he said.

DIGITAL city, i-City, has received the required licences from the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) that would allow it to operate as a telco-neutral development. The licences were presented to the developer of i-City by Deputy Minister of Information, Communication and Culture Senator Heng Seai Kie. The Government established MCMC under the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture to oversee the regulatory framework for the convergence of telecommunication, broadcasting and online activities, and therefore as the first networked development in the country, i-City naturally comes under the purview of MCMC. “When i-City development plans were first presented to MCMC a few years ago, we were very supportive as we have a Malaysian developer that is leading the way to implement many of the ideas and concepts that MCMC were set up to regulate. I would like to congratulate i-City for what they have achieved,” Heng said.

He commended i-City as a development that has provided the right infrastructure, facilities and services for digital storage and digital distribution, including in the plans to promote i-City as a tourism destination, working on digital lights and digital content. i-City is a 28.8ha commercial development in Shah Alam where digital technology has been integrated into the fabric of the development, designating i-City as both a MSC Cybercentre as well as a tourism destination. Under its charter as a MSC Malaysia Cybercentre, i-City needed to be a telco neutral zone. To implement this, it has invested in its own last mile infrastructure The whole i-City hosts a large Cisco network with both high speed as well as redundant broadband.

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.

I-City’s Enabling Environment for Web 2.0 Development of Web 2.0 means an evolution from the confusing and often intimidating ‘Information Age’. It means a return to the community-oriented, relationship based approach to doing business. The City Where Everything Actually Works . CEOs and decision makers can have peace of mind and not worry about down-time due to power failure or broadband failure.

http://i-city.my

THERE is a new landmark in the city that boasts a well-connected and fast, cosmopolitan lifestyle. Located in Section 7, Shah Alam, along the Federal Highway, the i-City is a RM2bil integrated commercial development on 29 hectares of freehold land by I-Berhad.

Designed by award-winning architect Jon A. Jerde, it is a fully integrated township with amenities ranging from a shopping mall, corporate towers and corporate offices, office suites, shop offices, office and retail suites, hotels, service apartments and a data and innovation centre. Currently, phase 1A of the ICT-based commercial township comprising 44 units of cyber office suites has been completed. The entire project is expected to take five years to complete. The development was envisioned to be a Digital City. It has obtained certification as a MSC Cyber Centre from the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, making its status similar to that of Cyberjaya, KL Sentral and the KL City Centre. The area is connected with a giga-speed fibre-optics network that allows complete connectivity and mobility, resulting in a true plug-and-play environment with a network capacity up to 10gbps. i-City chief innovative officer Ricky Lim said the development was a well-rounded structure that offered everything for the people who workedthere.

“We have offices, malls and residences with super broad band connectivity,” said Lim. “The i-City is specially built for all knowledge-based businesses dealing with a lot of content and data. “We just make the township very convenient and accessible by looking at every possible needs of the tenants, thus saving on travelling time, cost and more,” he said at the launch of the Concierge services at the townshipon Thursday. The services and the network set-up is an agreement between I-Berhad and Australia’s ServCorp and their key services are reception greeting, call management, facilities management, customer service and support. i-City Concierge is also equipped with meeting rooms and event halls to cater to the needs of the tenants and they are equipped with wireless broadband connection and state-of-the-art audio-visual facilities.  “The Concierge services concept offered in i-City is first of its kind in Asia, further stamping i-City as the premier technology city in this region,” he added.

I-BERHAD, a household appliance maker, has received offers from the Middle East and South Korean investors to buy some of its properties at the RM2 billion I-City project, a futuristic commercial development in Shah Alam, Selangor. Chief executive officer Datin Tey Siew Thuan said the offer is for its corporate towers. However, I-Berhad is open to selling other properties in I-City. “We are talking to the investors and hope to seal the deals for the corporate towers by 2009. We are not sure how many they plan to buy as it would depend on financial arrangements,” Tey told Business Times in an interview.

I-City is being developed in three phases on a 28.8ha freehold site in Section 7 of Shah Alam. The five-year project, which started in mid-2007, is the first venture in Selangor to be approved by the state government as being MSC Cybercentre-ready and was granted the status in February. Dubbed the “intelligent township”, it would feature eight corporate towers, two luxury hotels, two blocks of 24-storey branded residences, three- to five-storey shop offices and retail suites. It would also house a one million sq ft shopping mall, a data centre and an innovation centre. I-Berhad has so far sold 44 lots of shop offices, which will start to operate by August. The company is also in talks with several US-based hotel chains to operate the hotels, which have been earmarked as four- and five-star properties. It is also talking to international anchor tenants and shopping operators for the mall, which will open in 2011. “We are in advanced stage of discussions with one of the largest mall operators in Southeast Asia, currently managing more than 100 shopping malls under its belt. “They have expressed interest to own and operate the mall and we hope to finalise the details by September. We are now doing due diligence,” Tey said. I-Berhad plans to start building the hotels, residences and corporate towers next year. Currently under construction are 33 units of retail suites which would be ready by March 2009. “We have built the infrastructure and will set up the data centre by year-end, which would be managed by Kompakar Inc Bhd,” said Tey.I-Berhad has some RM96 million cash in hand and it is using its own funds for the initial stages of development. It would resort to joint ventures, bond sales and other corporate exercises to fund the second half of the development, said Tey.

I-BERHAD, a household appliance maker, has received offers from the Middle East and South Korean investors to buy some of its properties at the RM2 billion I-City project, a futuristic commercial development in Shah Alam, Selangor. Chief executive officer Datin Tey Siew Thuan said the offer is for its corporate towers. However, I-Berhad is open to selling other properties in I-City.  “We are talking to the investors and hope to seal the deals for the corporate towers by 2009. We are not sure how many they plan to buy as it would depend on financial arrangements,” Tey told Business Times in an interview.

I-City is being developed in three phases on a 28.8ha freehold site in Section 7 of Shah Alam. The five-year project, which started in mid-2007, is the first venture in Selangor to be approved by the state government as being MSC Cybercentre-ready and was granted the status in February. Dubbed the “intelligent township”, it would feature eight corporate towers, two luxury hotels, two blocks of 24-storey branded residences, three- to five-storey shop offices and retail suites. It would also house a one million sq ft shopping mall, a data centre and an innovation centre. I-Berhad has so far sold 44 lots of shop offices, which will start to operate by August. The company is also in talks with several US-based hotel chains to operate the hotels, which have been earmarked as four- and five-star properties. It is also talking to international anchor tenants and shopping operators for the mall, which will open in 2011. “We are in advanced stage of discussions with one of the largest mall operators in Southeast Asia, currently managing more than 100 shopping malls under its belt. “They have expressed interest to own and operate the mall and we hope to finalise the details by September. We are now doing due diligence,” Tey said. I-Berhad plans to start building the hotels, residences and corporate towers next year. Currently under construction are 33 units of retail suites which would be ready by March 2009. “We have built the infrastructure and will set up the data centre by year-end, which would be managed by Kompakar Inc Bhd,” said Tey. I-Berhad has some RM96 million cash in hand and it is using its own funds for the initial stages of development. It would resort to joint ventures, bond sales and other corporate exercises to fund the second half of the development, said Tey.