This article first appeared in City & Country, The Edge Malaysia Weekly on November 20, 2017 - November 26, 2017
MKH Bhd is no stranger to township developments. Since its inception in 1979, the developer has built a strong base in Kajang and Semenyih, Selangor, with various township developments such as Bandar Teknologi Kajang, Hillpark Home 1, Hillpark Home 2 and Kajang East.
As large tracts are harder to come by, the company has launched mostly pocket developments in recent years in other parts of the Klang Valley. These include TR Residence @ Jalan Tun Razak in Kuala Lumpur, Saville @ Cheras and MKH Boulevard in Kajang.
Now MKH has turned its focus back to its home base of Kajang. It is looking to unveil Kajang 2 Precinct 2 by the end of this month.
Property director Datuk Chong Yong Han says Kajang 2 Precinct 2 is part of a larger freehold township, which is divided into three precincts known as Kajang 2 Precinct 1, Kajang 2 Precinct 2 and Kajang 2 Precinct 3.
“These parcels used to be plantation land,” he tells City & Country. “Each precinct will have its own theme. Precinct 1 will have a metropolitan theme while Precinct 2’s will be Japanese. We haven’t confirmed the theme for Precinct 3 yet.”
The 515-acre Kajang 2 is located just 3km from the Kajang KTM-MRT interchange station. With a gross development value of RM5 billion, it will be the group’s first self-contained integrated township.
It is accessible via several highways, such as the North-South Expressway, Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway (SILK Highway), Sungai Besi Expressway, Kajang-Seremban Highway and South Klang Valley Expressway.
Chong says Kajang 2 will be the largest township near Kajang town. Surrounded by mature areas such as Bangi and Bandar Teknologi Kajang, the mixed-use development will focus on commerce, education and community.
Existing facilities close to the township are Universiti Tenaga Nasional, Alice Smith School, The Mines shopping mall, Bangi Golf Resort and Britannia Women & Children Specialist Centre.
MKH has allocated areas in the township for five schools — a Chinese primary school, a Chinese secondary school, a government primary school, a government secondary school and an international school.
The construction of the Chinese primary school has been completed and it is now in the interior-designing stage, while the international school — Rafflesia International School — started operations three years ago. Both are located in Kajang 2 Precinct 1.
Kajang 2 Precinct 2
Phases 3 and 4 at Kajang 2 Precinct 2, known as Midori and Hiroki, will be launched on Nov 25. In total, they will have 184 two-storey terraced houses with a north-south orientation.
With a built-up of about 2,100 sq ft on a land size of 22ft by 70ft, each unit will come with four bedrooms and three bathrooms. The family area on the upper floor will have a double-volume ceiling. The houses are priced at RM348 psf onwards or from RM720,900 each.
The houses are targeted at upgraders, investors looking for premium landed homes, families and buyers looking for a lifestyle development with security and facilities. Chong reveals that Midori and Hiroki achieved a take-up rate of 50% during a recent private preview.
In line with its theme, the precinct will have Japanese architecture, landscape and garden design. One of its features will be a 13.64-acre lake with water lilies, bamboo garden and a Japanese-inspired design.
Crown jewel
MKH first unveiled Kajang 2 about five years ago with the launch of the 30-acre Phase 1 in Kajang 2 Precinct 1, offering link and semi-detached houses. Chong explains that the developer eventually decided to focus on enhancing the accessibility and infrastructure of the township, while fine-tuning its plan to make it a self-contained development.
“What we have done is that we now have a flyover from Persiaran Bangi. Residents no longer need to make a detour along the SILK Highway to come into our township,” he says. Kajang 2 will also be connected to an upcoming KTM station, turning it into a transit-oriented development (TOD).
“The Kajang 2 KTM station is now under construction, and it is connected to the Kajang KTM-MRT interchange station. It is next to our township, so when it is completed next year, they will be linked up.”
The township’s crown jewel is a 50-acre commercial centre in Kajang 2 Precinct 1. Some 27 acres have been earmarked for the development of a shopping mall, while the remaining 23 acres will have office, hotel, medical and tertiary education components as well as high-rise apartments and stratified shoplots, says Chong.
The rest of Precinct 1 will comprise schools and residences.
“The development of the commercial centre will start next year and with that, we hope this township will become an iconic place in Kajang because all the facilities and conveniences will be available here,” Chong remarks. “The KTM station will be connected directly to the shopping mall. We are in talks with a partner to develop the mall together, which will have a space of 1.2 million sq ft. We are finalising the details now.”
The commercial centre will be a pedestrian-friendly, open-air area with various food and beverage outlets. It will be an area conducive to community bonding and to relax in, he says.
With Precinct 1 focusing mainly on commercial components, the remaining two precincts will house the residential components. Chong reveals that Precinct 3 will be launched in the next two years. For the moment, MKH will concentrate on Precincts 1 and 2, he says.
“In total, Kajang 2 will have 15,000 residential units, and less than 20% will be landed properties. We are launching landed houses first and will be launching high-rise apartments next year — about 1,500 units in four blocks.
“The surrounding townships have completed the launch of their landed properties, so we now have a limited supply of landed units in the area. Our target market are the residents in the surrounding areas. We are also exploring an opportunity to build a clubhouse for all Kajang 2 residents but nothing has been firmed up yet.”
Despite having decades of experience developing projects in Kajang, MKH still faced challenges when planning the new township. One of the main issues was the building of the flyover from Persiaran Bangi, says Chong. The newly completed flyover cost RM62 million to build, which was shared among several developers in the area.
“Also, Kajang 2 is not on a flat ground and there is a river running across Precinct 2, so we need to adjust the alignment. We always build according to the terrain,” he says. “We hope to bring quality, affordability and convenience to the residents here. For quality, we have set our Conquas (Construction Quality Assessment System) score target at 75 in general and 80 for the higher-end developments.”
Kajang 2 will be the developer’s focus for the next five to seven years. However, it will still build pocket developments, especially TODs, in other parts of the Klang Valley.
“We have many TODs and we are buying a few more parcels near public transport stations,” Chong says. “We believe in the concept of TODs and that it will become popular among young people. For TODs, we can get incentives from the government as well as reduce the number of parking bays and it will help us to save on cost.”
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