KUALA LUMPUR:More recreational areas and public parks will be set up to provide more “green” to the concrete forest in the federal capital,  which is now inhabited by 1.9 million people.

Federal Territories Minister Tan Sri Annuar Musa said this is one of the ministry’s aspirations towards providing a better quality of life and more comfortable living for city dwellers, apart from ensuring balanced development and a sustainable environment.

The move, he said, would involve upgrading and beautification of seven abandoned lakes in the north of the city under the 2020-2040 Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan (PSKL), which is expected to be launched in the middle of this year.

"It is a big challenge as the area is the focus of the private sector to be developed into residential areas.

"I want to ensure that our rapid development is balanced by having wider green areas," he told Bernama in a special interview in conjunction with the 2021 Federal Territory Day which will be celebrated tomorrow with the theme, “Federal Territory, Caring Territory”.

Annuar said PSKL also outlined, among others, development of large-scale public park in Bukit Kiara and upgrading of Taman Botani Perdana and Taman Tugu, as well as the goal of creating a 'garden city'.

He said providing affordable housing for city dwellers under the “Caring Residency”  initiative, costing about RM200,000 per unit and with a target of 20,000 units, will also be given priority.

A total of five sites in Putrajaya and one in Seputeh had been identified for the construction of the housing project, he said, adding that priority will be given to young buyers.

“We want to encourage young people to buy a house as early as possible,” he said.

He said the housing project will be built using the 'modular home' concept to speed up construction, as well as to save costs.

In another development, Annuar said the government had also identified several localities in the capital where the people could go for free WiFi access and 30 areas for urban renewal projects.

The government, he said,  is also studying implementation of the urban farming initiative, which would  be run by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to help the homeless start a new life.

"We are studying several aspects, including the allocation and number of participants to be involved,” he said.

Touching on development in Labuan, Annuar said several development projects, including construction of a lunar observation centre and a bridge connecting Labuan with mainland Sabah will be implemented.

"In Putrajaya, we want to have more tourism products and attractions to get more people to go and develop the economy there, as well as improve the public transport network," he said.

-- BERNAMA