By Yasmin Ramlan
SHAH ALAM, Oct 24 – Investment, Trade, and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz announced that the Federal government is mulling the inclusion of Selangor in its latest project, known as Greater Kuala Lumpur.
Zafrul said that InvestKL has been assigned to collaborate with sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd in developing the project, noting that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has given his approval for the project to proceed.
“So the zone will include Selangor. InvestKL has been tasked with Khazanah to look at it and I will tell them to talk to the state government to include it in this new zone.
“We have KLIA (Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang), Port Klang (in Selangor). Why are we not tapping into this zone?
“We also would like to suggest to include the Selangor government into the committee to look at the Greater KL… because we want to develop all these gaps in the Federal Territory, but we have a jewel here to build on and the PM has agreed on it,” he said during the 2024 Selangor Budget town hall session with the Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry in Kuala Lumpur, today.
Later during the dialogue session, Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari reiterated the state’s plan to create a Greater Klang Valley, which would connect four cities, stretching from Petaling Jaya to Klang.
The four cities are Petaling Jaya, Subang Jaya, Shah Alam, and Klang.
“I believe once Klang attains a city status, we will materialise the vision of the four connected cities.
“These cities are the areas that are already well-developed in terms of industry, logistics, and transportation. The challenge lies in determining the best approach to turn this vision into reality.
“So I think this is the crucial testbed to ascertain whether it is feasible for us at the state level to enact a system that integrates approvals in specific cities with the overall management of the four interconnected cities,” he said.
However, he reaffirmed that the proposal needs a discussion at the Federal level.
The aim of this initiative is to guarantee that the envisioned bigger economic zone facilitates improved management of incorporating all aspects — from solid waste management to business approvals, across the four connected cities.
