SEPANG took the lead in Selangor’s development landscape this year, reflecting steady investor interest within the municipality.
Sepang Municipal Council (MPSepang) recorded 470 planning approvals as of Dec 8, the highest among local authorities in the state.
The figure covers applications for planning and development permissions for residential, commercial and industrial projects processed by the council.
MPSepang president Dr Ani Ahmad said this was driven by strong investor interest, particularly after Sepang and neighbouring Kuala Langat were included in the state’s Integrated Development Region in South Selangor (Idriss).
She added that MPSepang also received 2,208 development plan submissions this year.
It was a notable achievement for the local council, which also saw a leadership change in the middle of the year.
Replacing Datuk Abd Hamid Hussain as MPSepang president, Ani said her focus was on understanding Sepang’s operational challenges, strengthening service delivery and refining urban planning.
The local council also got a much-needed boost in revenue when the Valuation List for assessment tax came into effect on Jan 1. It marked the first major revision since 1996.
Although the increase was capped at 25%, it generated an additional RM41mil in revenue, bringing total assessment tax collection to RM191.9mil.
Then deputy president Muhamad Shah Osmin said the additional revenue would be channelled towards 10 people-centric projects costing about RM50mil in total.
In July, MPSepang held a public exhibition of the Draft MPSepang Selangor Local Plan 2035 (Amendment), which included rezoning proposals for five flagship projects such as the KLIA Aeropolis and positioning Cyberjaya as a regional high-tech hub.
The plan also outlines initiatives to develop eco-cultural tourism in southern Sepang, improve the land transportation system and adopt the Sponge City concept for more sustainable urban water management.
One of Sepang’s long-term projects also moved a step forward this year with detailed inspections carried out on the Sri Banting Dredge in Dengkil.
The exercise was to assess the condition of the floating platform and determine the scope of restoration works.
The assessment was to help the local council estimate the repair requirements and project timeline to restore the 50-year-old dredge.
The restoration of the dredge is for the construction of the 29.14ha national tin mining heritage park, expected to be fully operational by 2028.
The project has received RM10mil from the Selangor government and RM3mil from Tourism, Arts and Culture Ministry.
MPSepang also received an Honour Award from the Institute of Landscape Architects Malaysia for two research projects on the dredge conducted by its Town Planning Department.
