Malaysia began its search for a new administrative centre in the 1980s to provide a more balanced development away from Kuala Lumpur. A site in the southern Prang Besar district was chosen, and in 1995 the project, named after the country's first Prime Minister, YTM Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra al-Haj, was launched. Construction for Malaysia's biggest ever real-estate project began in August 1995, with a target completion date of 2010. The entire project has been designed and constructed by Malaysian companies, and only 10 percent of the materials has had to be imported. While Kuala Lumpur will remain as the country's financial and commercial capital, Putrajaya will act as the new Federal Government administrative centre. Most of the Government agencies will have moved in by 2005, and when the project is completed, some 40 percent of the resident population are expected to comprise those in the private sector.
Location
Putrajaya sits on a magnificent 4931 hectares of land within the Multimedia Super Corridor. It is located 25km south of Kuala Lumpur and 20km north of Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). It will be the most accessible city in Malaysia, and can be reached by expressways, urban highways dan railways.
The Garden City
The new city is being developed as a 'Garden City' focusing on preservation of its 'eco' features. As a third of Putrajaya's area is set aside as open spaces, residents and visitors can expect a comfortable environment with lush greenery, gardens and parks spread across landscapes enhanced by lakes and wetlands. Stylishly designed government offices now sit along the Boulevard, surrounded by the massive Putrajaya Lake.
The Intelligent City
Putrajaya is conceived as one of two 'intelligent cities' under the Multimedia Super Corridor project. This is a 15km-by-50km zone, to be occupied by high-technology companies, that Malaysia envisions as its version of California's Silicon Valley. The main components of this corridor -- Cyberjaya, Kuala Lumpur City Centre, Kuala Lumpur International Airport, Cyberjaya and Putrajaya -- are bound by a fibre-optic network that provides high-speed computer links. Because Putrajaya sits at the centre node of this zone, residents can count on high-speed Internet access and other electronic-superhighway conveniences, in line with the concept of electronic government. The other 'smart city' is Cyberjaya, a multimedia catalyst centre created for global R&D and designed with the capacity to be the operational headquarters for multinational firms wishing to direct their world-wide activities using multimedia technology.