By THO XIN YI
thoxinyi@thestar.com.my
Photos by LOW BOON TAT and courtesy of Cyberview Sdn Bhd | Apr 27, 2012
A milestone development
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May 17, 1997, was a historic day for Cyberjaya.

On that day 15 years ago, then Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the IT-themed city.

As of 2011, Cyberjaya has received investments totalling RM12.42bil.

Cyberview Sdn Bhd managing director Hafidz Hashim revealed that investments in Cyberjaya totalled RM3.12bil in 2010, and RM3.1bil in 2011.

“We are projecting RM3.84bil for 2012,” he added.

Cyberview, which was established in October 1996, shoulders the responsibility of spearheading development in Cyberjaya, the nucleus of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC).

Its tasks include ensuring Cyberjaya is developed in accordance with MSC guidelines, providing assistance and supporting joint activities with organisations in Cyberjaya, attending to land administration matters, and providing advice to the government on MSC and Cyberjaya development matters.

“Of the investment value in 2011, enterprise investment amounted to RM522.6mil while residential investment came up to RM2.48bil,” Hafidz said.

In 2010 82.5ha of land in Cyberjaya was for sold for RM404.3mil. Last year the sale land tripled to reach RM1.23bil for 261.5ha, with residential developments leading the chart at RM612.6mil, followed by commercial developments at RM395mil and enterprise at RM156.7mil.

Hafidz explained that, of the 2,816.6ha of land in Cyberjaya, only 53% is available for sale for use as residential, mixed, institutional, light industry (automotive), enterprise and commercial developments.

The rest of the land is reserved for public amenities, utilities, infrastructure and a green lung.

“As of December 2011, development in Cyberjaya is 27% complete. Thirteen percent is still under construction while 31% is still in the planning stages. We still have a balance of 29% of the land to be developed,” Hafidz revealed.

With an aim to be a global ICT hub, Cyberjaya has certainly come a long way since its inception 15 years ago.

The prominence of the city can be seen in the number of multi-national companies that have chosen to set up their global operations centres there.

“Topping the list are big names such as HSBC, Dell, HP, Ericsson and IBM.

“We have many knowledge workers here serving international markets and time zones,” he said.

The number of local and international companies in Cyberjaya has reached 621 to date, double the initial number of 302 between 1998 and 2007.

Hafidz listed safety, convenience and world-class infrastructure as some of the key points that drew the companies in.

The self-contained city emphasises the four pillars of “Live, Study, Work and Play”.

Currently it hosts five institutions of higher education — Multimedia Uni-versity, Limkokwing University of Creative Technology, Cyberjaya Univer-sity College of Medical Sciences, Cyber Putra College and Kirkby College. And Hafidz said there is more to come.

Having joined Cyberview in 2004, Hafidz has seen how Cyberjaya has grown.

“It gives me a lot of satisfaction to see Cyberjaya’s transformation and its current vibrancy. We’re looking forward to exciting years ahead,” he said.

In conjunction with its 15th anniversary celebrations, Cyberjaya has a series of activities to get the community actively involved, including a digital photography contest, writing marathon and golf tournament.

Committed to the belief that the younger generation is the future of the nation, an event called “Informa-tion on Green Technology for School Children” (iGreet Jr) is also in the pipeline.

Tomorrow, Cyberview will celebrate Earth Day at Cyberjaya Lake Gardens Community Club with corporate recycle challenge, gotong royong, colouring contest for kids, green fair and an “Adopt A Tree” programme.

For details, visit http://cyberview.com.my.