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09 Jul 2012
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The Star: Township born again
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Township born again
By PHILIP HII
philiphii@thestar.com.my
9th July 2012 |
SIBU:The successful transformation of Sibu Jaya Township (SJT) has caught the attention of the Head of State Tun Abang Muhammad Salahuddin who made a surprise visit to the place together with his wife Toh Puan Norkiah.
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According to Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg, before the visit Salahuddin had expressed his wish to see first-hand the new development of SJT, which is located about 26km from here.
Johari said the Head of State was “very happy” with what he saw.
While at SJT on Saturday night, Salahuddin also officiated at the two-km Main Boulevard that links the existing development to the newly upgraded Pan-Borneo highway.
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SJT was first initiated in 1995 and 10 years later its masterplan was reviewed and new measures drawn to transform it into a new township focusing on improving the lifestyle of the community through better building design that incorporates environment and community-friendly elements.
A new joint venture company, HDCam Sdn Bhd was formed between Housing Development Corporation (HDC) and Amcorp Group to propel the transformation of SJT, integrating the old development and the new proposed development.
The new features in the re-planning of SJT masterplan which was approved in 2006 included upgrading the commercial area with a Main Boulevard, a 9.3ha Central Green Lung, a 16ha Green Belt stretching up to 3.6km within the residential components, revamping and upgrading of affordable homes, constrution of new medium and high-end homes, modern commercial shophouses and more public amenities.
In 2008, the re-planning masterplan won the prestigious Judges Merit in Planning Excellence Award under the Community Develop-ment-Planning Achievement Category in a national level competition organised by the Malaysian Institute of Planners.
Presently about 186ha of the total 566ha have been completed with a gross development value (GDV) of RM470mil. It has a population of about 25,000 people living in 5,452 residential units. It also has 174 commercial units and 92 industrial units.
When fully developed by 2023, the GDV of SJT would reach RM1bil and the population is expected to reach 60,000 people.
Johari disclosed that several other new development projects, which included the construction of Sibu Rural District Council’s headquarters, the Fire and Rescue building, a sports complex, religious buildings and one primary and one secondary schools would be implemented in stages.
SJT is also positioned to be the first Smart Township in the state with WiFi facility with assistance from MIMOS Berhad.
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