the future Taman Tugu

Green lung to benefit allLush parcel of land: An aerial view of the Taman Tugu project site includes KL Sentral (top left), Royal Lake Ctub and Tugu Negara (centre) and the Parliament House (top right). — GLENN GUAN/The

The Taman Tugu project will enhance connectivity between the city'slandmarks. The park will serve as a recreational area as well as an avenueto educate visitors on its flora and fauna. >2&3

A dearer picture ofthe future Taman TuguProject in secondary forest in Kuala Lumpurto have various features benefitting the public

Headline Green lung to benefit allMediaTitle The StarDate 19 Sep 2016 Color Full ColorSection Metro Circulation 338,368Page No 1TO3 Readership 1,032,000Language English ArticleSize 1965 cm²Journalist Stories by BAV/ANI M AdValue RM 98,891Frequency Daily PR Value RM 296,673

Stories by BAV/ANI [email protected] Khazanah Nasional Bhdunveiled their multimillion ringgitTaman Tugu project recently, therewas a lot of backlash over its scopeand timing.Many questioned the need for

spending so much money on treeplanting, while some expressedconcerns over what was assumedto be a development within a natural rainforest.There were also some misunder

standing that the project wouldmean the iconic Tugu Negara willbe demolished.Khazanah Nasional Bhd execu

tive director Jiv Sammanthan andsenior vicepresident CalvinRaqeem Jacob cleared some of themisconceptions about the projectin an exclusive interview withStarMetro.

Secondary park,not rainforestWalking through a lush trail of

vegetation on a plot that is part ofthe 26.7ha secondary forest, westopped at a spot, which is about0.4ha in size.

This spot will be the water playarea which is part of the children'splayground in the family zone."People think we are destroying

a rainforest to build this play area."They think it is going to be a

theme park, but they do not realisethat this is a secondary park andthere are more shrubs here thantrees.

"If you look around, you willnotice the little blue tags stuck onthe trees; these are the trees thatwill be retained," said Jiv."About 1,000 trees have been

tagged by Malaysian Nature Societyand Forest Research InstituteMalaysia."It took us more than two years

to identify and study each andevery tree," said Calvin.In addition to that, 5,000 trees

will be transplanted for the project."Only wild bushes and decaying

trees will be removed," said Jiv.Plans for the water play area

include building an amphitheatrewhere parents can sit and watchtheir children play.

Links to the parkKhazanah said construction is

expected to begin in the first quarter of 2017 and is targeted for completion by 2019.About 75% of the total Taman

Tugu project cost of RM650mil hadbeen allocated almost equally inthree parts while RMlOOmil will befor operations and maintenance.The breakdown is as follows

conserving and activating the park(RM180mil), setting up a learningand innovation centre (RM180mil),operations and maintenance(RMlOOmil) and connecting thesurrounding area with connectors(RM180mil)."Park connectors are a crucial

element to make a park sustainableand we need to work with privatecompanies to ensure there is aseamless connectivity via bridges,underpasses and pedestrian walkways."For instance, currently, in order

to get fromKL Sentral to MuziumNegara, we have to dice with danger to cross busy highways."The experience takes away the

joy one gets from an outdoor experience and the hot weather doesnot help either," Jiv said.The connectors include construc

tion of a onekilometre shelteredwalkway from Bank Negara KTMKomuter station to the Taman Tugumain entrance (which is oppositeLanai Kijang).There will also be a 100m under

pass from the southern end ofTaman Tugu to Taman BotaniPerdana.A 500m pedestrian deck of about

four to six metres wide will connect KL Sentral (from the CIMBbuilding:) to Taman Botani Perdanavia Muzium Negara. This deck willland on the trail along the lake.Also from KL Sentral (between St

Regis and Sentral Residences),

there will be a 20m overheadbridge to the front of MuziumNegara's main entrance."Khazanah will be engaging with

more partners to work on a 'winwin' situation on the connectors,"said Jiv, adding that so far MRCBand CIMB were keen on the proposal.

He also said an open tender process would be carried out to awardcontracts and there would also bean architecture and design competition to encourage public participation.

"So, the calculations are just anestimate for now. We will onlyfinalise the dimensions once weknow who our partners are," saidJiv.

Highlights and features

Jiv said that while constructionon the connectors would startsimultaneously in the first quarterof 2017, the deck from KL Sentralto Taman Botani Perdana wasexpected to take the longest as ittraversed major highways andrequired careful engineering andconsideration of the MRT lines thatrun beneath it along JalanDamansara.All connectors will be disa

bledfriendly and bicyclefriendly."We want to see mothers with

strollers, joggers, and even the disabled people using these facilitiesto get to the park."The deck will link KL Sentral to

the park and I am confident it willgenerate revenue for the city."If we can get 10% of tourists

who are in Kuala Lumpur for a dayor two, to enjoy the park, we areconfident that the project will payfor itself in a year," he said.Where food and beverage is con

cerned, there will be a lakesidefood court serving authenticMalaysian food as well as stalls setup in the vicinity of the surau.'To ensure cleanliness of the

park is maintained and there iseasy access for patrons, only twoareas will be designated as foodand beverage spots."While we are still working on

the finer details of the food andbeverage offerings, the aim is toensure there are sufficient eaterieswith a variety of options," said Jiv.Khazanah is gathering feedback

from the public on the types offood they would like to see in thepark through a survey on theirwebsite www.tamantugu.com.my.

An educational zone

An integral part of the project isthe educational zone which willprovide an interactive learningexperience that emphasises onenvironmental awareness, education and appreciation."We want people who come here

to also learn about the type of floraand fauna that we have," saidCalvin, adding that the educationzone would feature a RainforestEducation Centre as well as aLearning and Innovation Centrewhich was currently being referredto as Khazanah Ilmu.Khazanah Ilmu will include a

public library for various ages andinterest groups, study areas andcollaborative spaces, as well asauditoriums and rooms for contin


annee

Highlight

uous learning programmes.Other aspects include a site des

ignated for camping and the company plans to open it up to students.There will also be an observation

deck located on the highest point toview the city.The centuryold Malaysian

Administrative and DiplomaticService Association (PPTD) buildingwill be retained at the existing site.The clubhouse was established in1904, for British officers and subsequently used by local officers in1921.

The Government has also agreedto place Taman Tugu in a publictrust; preserving it as a green lungfor perpetuity."Once this is done, we are hop

ing that in future, other open spacenearby will also be preserved forthe good of the future generation."And for the record, Tugu Negara

will not be demolished," Jiv concluded.

A computergenerated image of the observation deck to be built at Taman Tugu.


Jiv (right) and Calvin looking towards the location where the link between KL Sentral and Muzium Negara will be built.

Pedestrians have to dash across a busy road to get to Muzium Negara from KL Sentral,The project will connect people in a seamless manner with covered walkways,

This parcel of land that is part of the 26.7ha secondary forest will bethe future water play area which is part of the children's playground.

The walkway fromKL Sentral to TamanBotani Perdana.


the future Taman Tugu

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