I-Bhd makes history of sort

I-Bhd makes history of sort

THE Selangor Government's recent endorsement of the proposed RM1.5bil i-City in Shah Alam as the first Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) Cybercentre in Selangor is a milestone in the history of I-Bhd as well as that of Selangor.

It also shows the serious commitment by the state government to push forward the ICT (information and communication technology) revolution in Malaysia.

Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, made the important announcement at the signing ceremony between leading network company Cisco Systems (M) Sdn Bhd and I-City Properties Sdn Bhd (a subsidiary of I-Bhd) on March 30.

He said the state government would work with bodies such as the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) and interested ICT service providers to create the best ICT-enabled infrastructure in Selangor.

“Towards this end, the state government will support and act as a full partner in the Klang Valley broadband push spearheaded by the MCMC.

“This plan targets to increase broadband penetration among households in the Klang Valley to 90% by 2010 from the current penetration of just 14.4% in Selangor and 27.9% in Kuala Lumpur,” he said.

He also said that the pilot project in Selangor would begin in areas under the Shah Alam City Council, Petaling Jaya City Council and Subang Jaya Municipal Council before moving to other areas in the state.

What has an ICT revolution to do with real estate or property development? Enormous.

Over the past 10 to 15 years, we have seen rapid changes in how people live and work. Today people expect more than just a roof over their heads. They expect a balanced healthy lifestyle that includes good security, concept homes and the conveniences of urban living and enough green space for recreation.

Developers who fail to meet the expectations of today's breed of discerning purchasers may lose out to rivals in a very competitive property market.

It is not enough just providing a “green street” concept or gated and guarded communities. Providing lots of landscaping and other extras like workout stations in parks, meditation/sauna centres for the more high-end developments has become the norm nowadays.

Purchasers expect to have high-speed broadband and other Net-centric society applications. This is especially important for businesses where meetings are conducted via teleconferencing and products are ordered online.

Although some of the business parks and office buildings as well as residential developments in Malaysia have gone broadband in recent years, we are still behind the more advanced and developed countries.

As Mohamad Khir said, Malaysia's survival as an economy and our future prosperity depend on our success to move up the value chain; and this is where a progressive ICT industry could make Selangor a leading investment location for local and foreign ICT companies.

In this respect, i-City as a private sector initiative by I-Bhd is leading the way not only to add value to one's property investment but would also provide the “ICT highway” for investors to do business in Selangor.

I-City is being developed as an MSC investment location, offering world standard infrastructure and services and providing an enabling environment for the knowledge workers to work, live and play in one location.

Hence the tie-up with Cisco is another feather in the cap for I-Bhd that had entered into strategic partnerships with Intel, Telekom Malaysia and UNISEL for the development of i-City.

“I-City is in a great position not just for Selangor but for Malaysia as a flourishing centre for ICT, and for ICT to be used as an energiser for other industries and important segments such as small and medium enterprises (SMEs),” said Cisco Malaysia managing director Kumaran Singaram.

I-City Properties also intends to implement Cisco Connected Real Estate (CCRE) solutions in i-City.

CCRE is a framework that uses the power of the network to reduce capital and operating expenditures for key stakeholders over the lifecycle of a building to create a more productive and flexible work place. It also enhances the health, safety and security of the building's occupants.

I-Bhd managing director Eu Hong Chew said i-City's first phase would focus on the SMEs. With many of the manufacturing industries and their supporting SMEs being located in Shah Alam, i-City would be a catalyst for greater adoption of ICT among these companies.

Eu said i-City would also focus on setting up a research and development cluster for the SMEs in Shah Alam.

He said the first phase of 44 units of landed shop offices target at SMEs would be completed at the end of this year while work on the strata suites and corporate offices targeted at mid-sized multinational companies is scheduled to start by the middle of this year.