English/Nat Construction of a new federal capital is underway in Malaysia. The new city, Putrajaya, will cost twenty billion ringgit (eight billion U-S dollars) and is Malaysia's largest ever building project. Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad plans to turn the Prang Besar Estate, four and a half thousand hectares of oil palm and rubber plantations, into the country's new administrative city. Hundreds of government officials and foreign diplomats attended the launch of the city, 25 miles south of Malaysia's current capital, Kuala Lumpur. Located near to the country's new International Airport, the city will be built over ten years and will be divided into government and commercial precincts. Mahathir's own office will move to spacious facilities in the new city, away from Kuala Lumpur, which is slowly turning into a concrete jungle. SOUNDBITE: (In Malay) "One day, Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and KLIA will be a megacity, comparable to megacities such as Tokyo-Yokohama and other urban combinations." SUPER CAPTION: Mahathir Mohammed, Malaysian Prime Minister The city is named Putrajaya after Malaysia's first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, who led the country to independence from Britain in 1957. Foreign and local companies have invested huge sums building skyscrapers in Kuala Lumpur, which is still considered an affordable city in economically booming Southeast Asia. However, property analysts said that despite Putrajaya's development Kuala Lumpur will continue to be Malaysia's commercial hub. Kuala Lumpur's skyscrapers are slowly eclipsing the capital's drab government offices. But some people believe that Mahathir should not spend extravagantly on creating a new city. SOUNDBITE: (in English) "A city doesn't rise up from the ground just like that. It, it comes about spontaneously. As they say, Rome wasn't built in a day, nor seven days, nor a decade. It was built over centuries. If you want to spend so much money on this new city, megacity, and its not even the capital, is it worth it? In the final analysis, is it worth it? Is it worth the money spent?" SUPER CAPTION: Lim Guan Eng, Opposition Member of Parliament But Mahathir said construction of the new city will be borne by both the government and the private sector. He also said the government will sell part of its property in Kuala Lumpur to finance Putrajaya's construction. You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/youtube/ef324dc017ed210248114dbcbff38929 Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork

• published: 21 Jul 2015
• views: 208