River Of Life: Revitalizing the Klang and Gombak Rivers

on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Kuala Lumpur, 1 July 2011 - YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, today, officially launched River of Life (RoL) project, aimed at revitalizing the Klang and Gombak Rivers into a vibrant and livable waterfront with high economic value.

Identified as an Entry Point Project (EPP) under the Greater Kuala Lumpur / Klang Valley National Key Economic Area (NKEA), the RoL project seeks to transform the Klang and Gombak River into an iconic waterway at par with the world's great cities such as London, Paris, Melbourne and Amsterdam by 2020.


"The government is seriously committed in moving ahead with its development agenda. Thus, the ROL project has been identified as a great contributor of economic growth whilst instrumental in improving the rakyat's quality of life," said YAB Dato' Sri Mohd Najib Tun Abdul Razak, the Prime Minister of Malaysia.

"This initiative, categorically divided into three components - river cleaning, river beautification, as well as river development, will not only bring development to the local economy but also increase the population income. I hope that, once completed, people will be able to benefit from this project," he added.



Along with the river cleaning project, beautification works will also be carried out along a 10.7km stretch of the Klang and Gombak river corridor. It is expected that with the river beautification, the value of the land in and around the 10.7 km will appreciate. Similar increases in land values had been realized in Singapore and Korea as a result of their river transformation projects.

According to YB Senator Dato' Raja Nong Chik bin Raja Zainal Abidin, Minister of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, "It is our hope that the RoL will make a change in mindset to create an environmentally friendly and sustainable living for the urban communities. It's time we remind ourselves to put our civic minded and responsible hats on to keep our rivers clean and uncontaminated."



Led by Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur (DBKL) under the Ministry of Federal Territories and Urban Well-being, today's marks an official launch for RoL project. In conjunction with the auspicious launch, 5 Master Planners had submitted their proposal for the Master Planning Competition under the river beautification component which was launched on the 12 April 2011. Each proposal will be assessed by a panel of appointed jurors based on their professional expertise.

In the spirit of greater transparency, the 5 Master Plans are made available for public to view and vote at www.riveroflife.com.my. Voting will be open commencing July 2nd and close on July 28th. Thereafter, the winning proposal will be announced on July 30th. Meanwhile, there will be a two day public briefing at Dewan Perdana Mestika, Institut Dewan Bandaraya Kuala Lumpur from the 4th to 12th July at the same venue. The public are encouraged to attend to enable them to have an insight into the individual Master Plans to facilitate their voting. The public would be able to cast their votes on the website.

DBKL is also currently in the midst of determining a Project Delivery Partner (PDP) to coordinate the River of Life Project. The PDP will also be announced in due course.
Official website: http://riveroflife.com.my/

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