Both the Selangor House and The Court projects, also known as Selangor in a Day, will be the ‘Gateway to Selangor’ in KL

by NUR HANANI AZMAN/ pic by RAZAK GHAZALI

MENTERI Besar Selangor Inc (MBI Selangor) has entered into a memorandum of agreement (MoA) with the Selangor state government and INADAY Sdn Bhd to build Selangor House and The Court at a cost of RM90 million.

Selangor House is a tourist attraction venue, while The Court is a boutique hotel which will be developed on the former site of two historic buildings owned by the Selangor state government, to give visitors the opportunity to get to know Selangor better.

Both projects are currently awaiting approval from the Kuala Lumpur (KL) City Hall and Department of National Heritage before construction works can proceed.

Upon completion of both buildings, RM37 million worth of rental fees is expected to be collected in 30 years, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said.

“After all the applications are approved by the authorities, we target around 12 to 24 months for the process of renovation.

“The renovation process is different from the usual projects because we need to maintain some historic elements, like building shape and materials,” he told reporters at the MoA signing ceremony yesterday.

Selangor House will be located at the former Muzium Muzik along Jalan Raja, KL, while The Court will be built at the former site of the Industrial Court of Malaysia, also in KL.

INADAY is the official operator and property manager of the Selangor state government-owned buildings.

The state government hopes Selangor House will be opened to the public in the third quarter of this year, in support of the Visit Malaysia 2020 campaign, as well as to promote the Visit Selangor Year initiative next year.

Both the Selangor House and The Court projects, also known as Selangor in a Day, will be the “Gateway to Selangor” in KL featuring culture, heritage, icons, travel destinations, and business and investment opportunities in Selangor.

Selangor in a Day will also collaborate with several Selangor-based agencies namely Tourism Selangor, Invest Selangor Bhd, Central Spectrum (M) Sdn Bhd, Selangor Malay Culture and Heritage Corp, Galeri Diraja Sultan Abdul Aziz, Royal Selangor International Sdn Bhd, Smart Selangor, SMARTSEL Sdn Bhd, Selangor Maritime Gateway and Smart Selangor Delivery Unit.

The project will greatly benefit the tourism industry in promoting products of Selangor, as well as the state government’s initiatives.

Among the famous tourist attractions in the state are Sky Mirror and Bukit Melawati, which have helped promote Kuala Selangor’s image among visitors.

Selangor is one of the wealthiest states in Malaysia. Its revenue collection stood at RM1.21 billion as at June 7, 2018, marking a 13.8% rise year-on-year, Amirudin said in June 2019.

Over the same period, the state also recorded flows of local and foreign investments amounting to RM18.95 billion versus RM5.59 billion in investment value recorded in 2017, he added.

For 2017, the state government recorded a revenue of RM2.8 billion, representing a 12.4% jump from RM2.5 billion registered the year prior, according to data from the Department of Statistics Malaysia.

Selangor also contributed the most to national GDP in 2018 at 23.7%, and was the fastest-growing state for the year with growth of 6.8%, outpacing the country’s overall expansion of 4.7%.

The state has a budget of RM2.3 billion for 2020, of which 51.44% or RM1.2 billion has been allocated for administrative costs, while the remaining 48.56% is set aside for development expenses.

In presenting the 2020 budget last November, Amirudin said it will focus on five main trusts revolving around improving the state’s economy, education, safety, health and social aspects.