Cyberjaya

Sunset over Cyberjaya (2010)
Night view at Cyberjaya Lake Garden
Shaftsbury Square, Cyberjaya

Cyberjaya is a town with a science park as the core that forms a key part of the Multimedia Super Corridor in Malaysia. It is located in the district of Sepang, Selangor. This town aspires to be known as the Silicon Valley of Malaysia.

The official opening ceremony for Cyberjaya was held in May 1997 by then Prime Minister, Mahathir bin Mohamad.

History

The idea of an IT-themed city, Cyberjaya, arose out of a study by management consultancy McKinsey for the Multimedia Super Corridor commissioned by the Federal Government of Malaysia in 1995. The implementation agency was the Town & Country Planning Department of the Ministry of Housing and Local Government. The catalyst is the agreement by NTT in 1996 to site an R&D center at a site to the west of the new Malaysian administration center, Putrajaya.

Multimedia Development Corporation (then known as MDC), the agency overseeing the implementation of the MSC was located in Cyberjaya to oversee the creation. The real estate implementation was privatised to Cyberview Sdn Bhd (Cyberview) in early 1997. At the time, Cyberview was set up a joint-venture comprising entities such as Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd (SHSB), Nippon Telephone and Telegraph (NTT), Golden Hope, MDeC, Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) and Kumpulan Darul Ehsan Berhad (KDEB), representative of the Selangor Government. SHSB, a consortium comprising Renong, Landmarks, MKLand and Country Heights, was asked to take the lead regarding the development. Federal government linked companies Telekom Malaysia and Tenaga Nasional were conscripted to provide the telecommunication and power supply infrastructure. The ambitious plan was to develop the first phase, comprising 1,430 hectares by year 2006, with the remaining 1,460 hectares to be developed after year 2011. The engineering management consultant, Pengurusan Lebuhraya Bhd (now acquired by Opus International Malaysia) was appointed to manage the construction of utilities and infrastructure, overseeing major construction firms of Peremba and United Engineers Malaysia (UEM).

The central theme for the development is providing a quantum jump in standards, summarised as follows:

However, due to the late 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, the undertaking was deemed no longer viable and necessitated the Government taking over of the 55% and 15% stake in Cyberview shares held by SHSB and NTT respectively via the Ministry of Finance Inc (MOF Inc). The transaction gave MOF Inc a 70% stake and Cyberview has remained a government-owned company ever since. Cyberview then entered into an agreement with SHSB with shareholders comprising Country Heights Holdings Berhad (CHHB), Landmarks, Menara Embun (an MKLand Controlled Company) and Renong (now UEM World) with equal shares of 25%; granting SHSB the right to develop Cyberjaya as the master developer, while Cyberview became the landowner. In 2004, CHHB and Landmarks sold their equity interest in SHSB to MKLand-controlled companies, namely Modern Eden (12.5%), Impressive Circuits (12.5%) and Virtual Path (25%), resulting in MKLand-controlled companies becoming the majority shareholder of SHSB.

Cyberview's role grew to include implementing various development and government initiatives, while SHSB carried on its role as the master developer. In addition to this, Cyberview was also tasked to undertake city-wide maintenance and spearhead investor interface and community-centric programmes in Cyberjaya.

In 2014, efforts went underway to reposition Cyberjaya from Malaysia's first cybercity to a global technology hub.

Physical development

Spanning an area of about 28.94 square kilometres (7,000 acres), the town is the nucleus of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), now known as MSC Malaysia. The site for Cyberjaya was primarily undeveloped land consisting of oil palm plantations. It has since seen extensive building activities including a boutique hotel, numerous commercial buildings, offices for MSC Status companies, universities, a community club and the headquarters for the local council.

It was built to be the city of the future, but no goals toward this end have been announced. The Multimedia Development Corporation (MDeC) (formerly MDC), the agency tasked with spearheading the MSC's progress, has its headquarters in the heart of Cyberjaya.

Setia Haruman Sdn Bhd is the Master Developer of Cyberjaya entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that Cyberjaya is properly planned and developed with world class infrastructure and amenities to make it a sought after location to attract Multi-national Companies to locate their businesses in Cyberjaya.

Setia Haruman also undertakes the development of properties such as office buildings, retail space and apartment suites to meet the market’s demand. Apart from being a Master Developer of Cyberjaya, Setia Haruman also wears the hat as a Property Developer and have constructed commercial, residential and enterprise buildings to meet the demands of the thriving community in Cyberjaya.

Office and commercial facilities

A number of companies who qualify for MSC incentives have relocated their operations to Cyberjaya. Among them are T-systems, Dell, HP, DHL, Satyam, Wipro, HSBC, Ericsson, Motorola, OCBC, BMW, IBM, Shell IT, Monster.com, Vivanova Systems, the Response Centre of the Anti Money Laundering Network and others. Currently, over 500 MSC Status companies have located their operations here, making the township a rapidly growing area.

Today, Cyberjaya is home for several government agencies such as Malaysian Department of Public Services, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Human Resource and Sepang Municipal Council.

MKN Embassy Techzone is a freehold ICT business park project on approximately 41 acres (17 ha) of prime Cyberjaya land in the flagship zone aimed for lease to multinational companies. The project is developed by MKN Embassy Development Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture company between EMKAY Group of Malaysia and Embassy Group of India, who is as a strategic partner for EMKAY Group in the development of this specialised ICT building.

Education facilities

Multimedia University campus

Multimedia University is one of the higher education institutions and an early component of Cyberjaya. The Cyberjaya campus was opened on 8 July 1999. The university's enrolment in Cyberjaya is about 20,277 students. Approximately 19% of these are international students from 80 countries. Faculty departments include Engineering, Information Technology, Creative Multimedia and Management. This campus was the brainchild of the country's fourth prime minister, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, as a center of learning and research for the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC), a 750 km² area designated as the country's high-tech research and industrial area.

Other higher education institutions in Cyberjaya are two universities that are Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, University Malaysia of Computer Science & Engineering and 3 colleges that are Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences; Cyber Putra College and Kirkby International College.

There is a Sekolah Seri Puteri which is a National Secondary Full Boarding School (Bahasa Malaysia: Sekolah Berasrama Penuh) for girls.

To cater for schoolgoing children of the general population of Cyberjaya, there are primary (Sekolah Kebangsaan Cyberjaya) and secondary (Sekolah Menengah Cyberjaya) public schools. The student population is about 350 and 750 for the primary and the secondary schools respectively.

Public facilities

As an emerging township, Cyberjaya now has a Police Station Complex, and a Fire Station (Bomba). Apart from that, other public amenities which are completed includes a small recreational park just next to Multimedia University, the Cyberjaya Community Club, the Sports Arena (which offers outdoor sports facilities), bus shelters, pedestrian walkways and signalised pedestrian crossing at road junctions and more than 700 free parking bays.

Recreation facilities

Parks

The Cyberjaya Lake Gardens is a 400-acre (1.6 km2) 'green lung' for Cyberjaya. Presently, about 86 acres (35 ha) of the land has been developed with facilities including Visitor's Information Centre, Boardwalk, Look-Out Tower, children's playground, 15 acres (6.1 ha) of main lake and 29 acres (12 ha) of natural and wetland. The Lake Gardens is now gaining popularity amongst the local community. Many community events including fishing competitions have attracted thousands to this lake. In September 2007, the Cyberjaya 50th Merdeka Carnival Celebration has attracted more than 4,000 anglers and it was registered as the biggest fishing competition by the Malaysia Book of Records.

Panorama of Putrajaya from Prescint 7 Promenade in February 2011.

Other outdoor recreational facilities include the mini park, adjacent to the Multimedia University; the 3.5 km promenade area next to the Putrajaya Lake; and the Sports Arena which offers more than 360 free parking bays, 1 basketball court, 1 tennis court, 2 futsal courts, a football field and a small food court.

For indoor recreational facilities, the Cyberjaya Community Club, developed by Cyberview, has been the point of congregation for many including some from outside Cyberjaya. With 2 futsal courts, 2 badminton courts, a gymnasium and 2 squash courts; all indoor and outdoor recreational facilities including basketball court, 2 tennis courts, swimming pool, a go-kart circuit and golf driving range; it is a hive of activity, especially after 5.30 pm.

Nightlife

Cyberview Lodge Resort and Spa in February 2011.

The city has a number of bars and restaurants, including Japanese food options.

Transportation

The completion of the KL-Putrajaya Highway (MEX Highway) in December 2007 has cut short the travel time by car from Kuala Lumpur to Cyberjaya to 20 minutes. The KL-Putrajaya Highway allows motorists from Kuala Lumpur and other places along its alignment to get to Kuala Lumpur International Airport in 30 minutes. The highway which ends at the Putrajaya Utama toll plaza links up to the Elite Highway which will then give motorist only another 10 minutes to get to KUL. However, one still needs about 30 minutes to travel to KUL from Cyberjaya. Drivers have a toll-free alternative route with the completion of the B15 Road extension that passes through Dengkil and Bandar Baru Salak Tinggi. The North-South Expressway Central Link (also known as ELITE Highway) and the North Klang Valley Expressway (NKVE) will make the travel time from Cyberjaya to Port Klang, the nation's main port, to be less than one hour.

Express Rail Link Sdn Bhd (ERLSB), the operator of KLIA Ekspres and KLIA Transit, provides train service to Cyberjaya and Putrajaya (via KLIA Transit). Due to the closeness of these cities, they share the same station in Putrajaya. There are feeder buses that run from the Putrajaya Sentral to rest of Putrajaya and Cyberjaya. These buses are timed to match with the timing of the train services and cost RM1 for travel within the circle.

Cyberjaya has just few buses. These buses are not timed to match the timing of the train services and the buses' fare increase to RM 2 for each trip. However, the service is frequent but reliability and safety is concerning at times.

To improve the internal transportation, Cyberview has launched a free park and ride system which is a viable alternative for those wishing to park at the designated areas in Cyberjaya and commuting to areas of the city.

Cyberjaya features a single bus terminal, known as the Cyberjaya Transport Terminal. Taxis are available at the terminal.

The neighbouring transportation hub of Putrajaya Sentral provides conventional bus routes from Bandar Utama (U43) and Serdang KTM Komuter (U42); Express Bus Route to Jalan Sultan Mohamad, Kuala Lumpur (E1) and the local bus (U429) as a feeder service from Putrajaya Sentral to Cyberjaya.

Residential Areas

As of June 2015, there are plenty of landed and high rise residential developments being offered for residential stay. High rise residential and integrated developments including the likes of Shaftsbury Square, D'Pulze, Serin Residency, The Place, D'Melor, Domain, etc. and landed housing including Symphony Hills, Garden Residence, Summer Glades, Mirage by the Lake. With the many upcoming developments, there will be at least an additional 10,000 of residential units in the next two years. It's being perceived Garden Residence, Cyberjaya is the most strategic landed properties in Cyberjaya due to its proximity to SkyPark, Cyberjaya Center Centre and IOI Resort City Mall. The upcoming development around Garden Residence Cyberjaya is that there will be two stop-over stations of MRT line 2 and another RM15 billion worth of developments over the next five years in Cyberjaya City Center.

Population

The day-time population in Cyberjaya is about 83,000 and the current population is expected to increase to 100,000 by end of 2016 with the robust developments taking place. Cyberjaya's population is expected to increase to 210,000 by 2020.

Technological features

Cyberjaya is planned as an intelligent city with ICT and multimedia industries, R&D centres, a Multimedia University and operational headquarters for multinationals wishing to direct their worldwide manufacturing and trading activities using multimedia technology.

Toward this end, leading edge technologies were used, some with mixed results. In addition to the successful implementation of the above-mentioned Cyberjaya Dedicated Transportation System, the Cyberjaya blog is another example of the technology-based features that have been put in place.

Communications

To support the aspiration to host multimedia industries, Cyberjaya was specified with extensive and intensive fibre optic cabling. As Malaysia's premier IT hub, Cyberjaya has a telecommunication backbone running primarily on fibre optics known as Cyberjaya Metro Fibre Network (CMFN). Operated by Setia Haruman Technology Sdn Bhd, CMFN is a carrier neutral and open access infrastructure where multi-leading Telco/Carriers/ISPs are riding on CMFN's fibre optic network to provide their services to end customers in Cyberjaya. CMFN delivers fibre connectivity straight to the building under the concepts of "Fibre-To-The-Building (FTTB)" and "Fibre-To-The-Home (FTTH)". As such, most of the commercial buildings and offices are connected to CMFN. With the ring topology; CMFN offers full redundancy throughout the network – with the availability of high capacity and resiliency network, many data centres are located here and connected to CMFN. However, some older commercial and residential units still use copper lines to provide "last mile" access to customers. Broadband access covering wireless and fixed line is readily available. Broadband access is serviced primarily by City Broadband (Ethernet Broadband-Over-Fibreoptic), TMnet, MyKris, NTT MSC (formerly ARCnet) and recently Air Broadband which has announced its test pilot plans in Cyberjaya for Wimax.

Backup electrical supply

The Cyberjaya planning guidelines strongly required two electricity connections from two separate substations. Diesel generators up to full load (except air conditioning load) were specified to be installed in all commercial buildings. The electricity grid connection was also organised to enable "power islanding" and supported by the Serdang Power Station. The electricity service standard is set at 99.99% availability with maximum of 10 seconds interruption for office and commercial areas and maximum 15 minutes interruption for residential areas. These measures were dreamed up to provide Cyberjaya with a comparative advantage against other areas outside the Multimedia Super Corridor. However, Tenaga Nasional has extended the same standard to all urban areas connected to the National Grid in Malaysia.

On 26 June 2007, despite the advertised preparedness, Cyberjaya experienced a city-wide power outage for more than 30 minutes. No official reason was given for the outage.

District cooling

The use of district cooling system, where chilled water from a central plant is provided to run the air conditioning, was laid extensively in the central district. The promise is the economical use of off-peak electricity at night to chill water for the air conditioning use during the day. Pendinginan Megajana Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Cyberview, is the provider for this service.

Data centres

Several data centres operate in Cyberjaya. Notable are those operated by T-systems for Shell, NTT MSC, BMW and DHL. A small scale Data Centre ideal for Small & Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is located at City Command Center Cyberjaya (CCC) Data Centre that provides Rack Location Unit (RLU) space rental and server co-location. There are also carrier neutral, high-end purpose built data centre facilities in Cyberjaya such as CX1, CX2 and CX5 – managed by CSF Advisers (a member of CSF Group plc CSF Group), Basis Bay and MyTelehaus. There are also few government agencies' purpose built data centre facilities in Cyberjaya such as managed by Central Bank (Bank Negara Malaysia) and Road Transport Department. Malaysia's incumbent Telco, Telekom Malaysia (TM) also has it purpose built data centre facilities in Cyberjaya.

Call centres

Several call centres & service desk operate in Cyberjaya. Notables are those operated by HP, IBM, HSBC.

Office space

Initially 8 blocks of office buildings were built by the developer. These are purpose built for multimedia companies by being provided extra height ceiling and under floor trunking (some with raised floor), fibre optic wiring, dual redundant power supply, uninterruptible power supply and back up generators for whole electricity load, which common practice in Malaysia is only to 30% load.

Presently, there are more than 30 completed office buildings in Cyberjaya catering for multi tenants as well as single tenants. The presence of Government agencies will also increase once the Bank Negara Data Centre and Road and Transport Department's IT Centre buildings are completed.

This city is also looking forward to the development of the Knowledge Workers Development Institute (KWDI) and the Creative Multimedia Cluster, both by Cyberview, which are targeted for completion in 2009.

MKN Embassy Techzone, is a freehold ICT business park project on approximately 41 acres (17 ha) of prime Cyberjaya land in the flagship zone aimed for lease to multinational companies. The project is developed by MKN Embassy Development Sdn. Bhd., a joint venture company between EMKAY Group of Malaysia and Embassy Group of India, who is as a strategic partner for EMKAY group in the development of this specialised ICT building.

Cyberjaya-TV

Cyberjaya-TV was conceived in late 2009 in an effort to showcase Cyberjaya's "Live, Study, Work & Play" elements. Contents developed, primarily, relate to Cyberjaya which provides a mean for people all over the world to sample part of the thriving Cyberjaya community.

Education

Cyberjaya also plays host to a number of schools, colleges and Universities. These include Multimedia University (MMU),[1] Kirkby International College, Cyberjaya University College of Medical Sciences (CUCMS) and limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT).

See also

 Kota Kemuning
Shah Alam		 Puchong
Putra Heights		 Seri Kembangan
Kajang
Teluk Panglima Garang
Jenjarom		 Putrajaya
Bangi
   Cyberjaya  
Banting
Kuala Langat		 Dengkil
KLIA		 Putrajaya
Nilai

References

  1. ↑ www.mmu.edu.my. Multimedia University. Missing or empty |title= (help);
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Cyberjaya.

Coordinates: 2°55′21″N 101°39′18″E / 2.92250°N 101.65500°E / 2.92250; 101.65500

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