KL reaches for the skies, approval granted for several new superstructures

The skyline of Kuala Lumpur is to set change dramatically and significantly in the near future.
Several superstructures of over 50-storeys high will soon join the Petronas Twin Towers and KL Tower to dwarf other high-rise buildings in the city centre.
Mahadi: DBKL has approved several superstructures.
Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) town planning director Mahadi Che Ngah has confirmed that the DBKL had approved several superstructures comprising office blocks, hotels and serviced apartments.
According to Mahadi, a skyscraper soaring to about 60 storeys has been approved as an extension to the Petronas Twin Towers. It will be located next to the Mandarin Oriental Hotel.
The pricey plot near Suria KLCC will also be the site for the Four Seasons Centre Kuala Lumpur, with its tallest building standing at 70 storeys.
It is touted to be a mixed development comprising a Four Seasons hotel, serviced apartments, luxury condominiums and retail outlets.
KL Sentral is also expected to have a structure towering at about 60 storeys.
Another skyscraper to loom over Stadium Merdeka at about 40-storeys tall has also been approved in principle. It is learnt that this will be part of a privatisation project by the government.
Mahadi said two other projects with 30-storey structures were waiting for their development orders.
On talks that a 100-storey skyscraper would be erected near the Matrade centre, bordering Jalan Kuching and Jalan Duta, Mahadi said it was merely an enquiry.
He said no plan or application had been submitted on the so-called project and it was too early to say that Kuala Lumpur would have another building taller than the Twin Towers.
“High-rise projects in Kuala Lumpur have to abide by height guidelines.
“They cannot just follow the fancy of the landowners. These developers have been well informed of the policies in the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020, draft Kuala Lumpur City Plan 2020 and other planning regulations,” he said.
“The height of the buildings is related to land value, the more expensive the land, the higher the buildings but we still need to look into other aspects like road systems and public transport,” Mahadi said.
According to Mahadi, commercial zones are categorised as city centre, district centre and neighbourhood centre, to control development intensity.
The city centre commercial zone has the highest range of permissible plot ratio of up to 1:10. Plot ratio refers to the ratio of land area and floor area.
Superstructures can only be allowed in the city centre commercial zone, which is largely around the KLCC area, as well as other areas designated for the purpose such as KL Sentral and Mid Valley.
“This means that if a developer wants to erect a very tall building in an area outside the city centre commercial zone, it has to make sure there is a large span of green in the surroundings,” Mahadi said.
He advised the public to study the draft KL City Plan 2020 carefully to check on the development intensity proposed for the different areas.
“Some plans have been committed decades ago and the DBKL will have to follow up on these commitments.
“If land owners and residents think that these plans are no longer feasible, or they will suffer losses if the plans proceed, now is the time for them to register their objections,” he said.
The Draft KL City Plan objective is to turn Kuala Lumpur into a world-class city by 2020.
The plan states that “to achieve the vision for a world-class city by 2020, Kuala Lumpur needs an optimum population that supports the city’s role as a leading centre of the new economy”.
Kuala Lumpur is positioned to have a population of 2.2 million, up from the 1.5 million now by 2020, with a population density of 13,805 people per sq km in the city centre, similar to the population density of the busiest areas in Tokyo.
According to town planners interviewed by StarMetro, this demography is inconsistent with the National Physical Plan that advocates sustainable living in the city.
In fact, the physical plan’s objective is to slightly decrease the gross urban density of 29 people per hectare (2,900 people per sq km) to 25 per hectare.