Malaysia Creates Capital City, Opens Hotels
In November, Shangri-La will open a brand new hotel in a brand new city.
Putrajaya, the new administrative center of the federal government of Malaysia, will welcome the 120-room luxury hotel that will provide accommodations for visitors to what ultimately will become Malaysia's new "Washington." Malaysia's present capital is Kuala Lumpur.
The new city, 15 miles south of Kuala Lumpur and within 12 miles of Kuala Lumpur International Airport, recently became home to the nation's prime minister and a major mosque. The city, described by the government as "Malaysia's first intelligent garden city," will become the nation's political nerve center.
Designed, in part, to relieve congestion in Kuala Lumpur, which remains the commercial capital, the new city is located in the Multimedia Super Corridor. The 18-square-mile city, which Malaysian planners depict as being built on a "City in a Garden" concept, boasts 13 parks, lakes and wetlands.
Reflecting the Shangri-La hotel's picturesque botanical garden surroundings, each of its four floors will have its own unique nature theme and the hotel will be centered on a glass atrium with water features and lush vegetation. Guest rooms will feature high-speed Internet access, a butler call system and distinct Malaysian décor. Enhanced by the hotel's elevated location, most rooms, including the four suites and presidential suite, will have a view of the parklands and lakes. Also onsite will be a spa and health club featuring an outdoor swimming pool, sauna, steam room and Jacuzzi.
Already open in Putrajaya is the 152-room Renaissance Palm Garden Hotel. The eight-floor structure has seven meeting rooms and approximately 35,000 square feet of total meeting space. Guest rooms feature a work desk, voicemail, cable and satellite television.
Access to Putrajaya is provided through the North-South Central link, Kuala Lumpur-Seremban highway, Damansara-Puchong highway and the soon-to-be completed South Klang Valley expressway. In addition, express and commuter rail services are expected to begin operations by year-end. Also planned are at least 67,000 housing units. An estimated 76,000 public and 59,000 private sector employees will live and work in Putrajaya.
The city will be divided into five specialty sectors that include separate government, sports and recreational, mixed development, civic and cultural areas. Surrounding these sectors will be 14 residential neighborhoods, sites where the government promises "nature and technology will work in harmony for the benefit of the community."
Its meshing with Malaysia's commercial center is in stark contrast to perhaps the best known experiment in capital moving, Brasilia, 1,000 miles west of Brazil's longtime capital Rio de Janeiro.
Literally located in the middle of nowhere, four-decade-old Brasilia today is a negative poster child for sterile architecture and non-human-friendly layout. Virtually no one lives there by choice and weekend flights are packed with diplomats and commercial travelers desperate for a getaway.
More recently, Cote d'Ivorie, Germany, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Tanzania have moved all or significant portions of their federal government operations to new cities.