‘Incorporate local elements at Bkt Kerinchi urban park'

The Star

2 days ago

Pantai Sentral Park is a 23ha integrated project jointly developed by IJM Land and Amona Group of Companies.
LEMBAH Pantai MP Datuk Fahmi Fadzil wants elements of local history incorporated in the Urban Park at Bukit Kerinchi Forest Reserve landscape design and plant selection.
'In Kuala Lumpur, there are communities that have been in certain areas long before the city was developed,' he said.
'I was also told that parts of Kampung Kerinchi were where local folk used to look for bamboo to sell.
'So, I hope that historical elements such as this can be incorporated into the design or selection of trees for the park.'
Fahmi, who is also Communications Minister, was speaking after the Urban Park groundbreaking ceremony held at the forest reserve.
Also present were IJM Land chief executive officer Datuk Tony Ling, Amona Group chief executive officer and director Datuk Che Hasnadi Che Hassan, and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) executive director (planning) Datuk Zulkurnain Hassan.
Fahmi shared that DBKL has begun a rewilding initiative around the reserve.
'When the team comprising DBKL's Landscape Department, Forest Research Institute Malaysia (FRIM) and arborists assessed the trees here, they discovered that most were rubber trees because of the rubber estate that was previously here,' he said.
(Front row, from left) Che Hasnadi, Ling, Fahmi and Zulkurnain at the groundbreaking ceremony for Urban Park at Taman Rimba Bukit Kerinchi, Kuala Lumpur. — Photos: ONG SOON HIN/The Star
'In order to properly repopulate this area with flora and fauna, we have to plant trees that are more indigenous to this location.
'Those efforts were stymied because of the Covid-19 pandemic but have since resumed,' he added.
Fahmi said part of the rewilding involved planting a variety of trees and building a new access point near the Lembah Pantai Community Centre.
He described the initiative as similar to the one undertaken in Pulai Trail, a public green space on Federal Hill.
'A community in Bangsar Park worked together with non-governmental organisation Free Tree Society to identify local plant species that they could plant alongside the pulai trees that have been in Federal Hill for six or seven decades,' he shared.
Urban Park will help ensure the township of Pantai Sentral Park is connected, sustainable and community-focused.
It is a 23ha project developed by IJM Land and Amona Group of Companies.
The 0.35ha Urban Park will have walking trails, communal gathering spaces and shaded areas.
It will also serve as the direct third access to hiking routes within the 66ha Bukit Kerinchi Forest Reserve, which borders the 36ha Bukit Gasing Forest Reserve in Petaling Jaya.
Urban Park will have biodiverse landscaping featuring trees and pollinator gardens that incorporate over 30 plant species.
It will be linked to an upcoming MRT3 station via a covered walkway across the Pantai Sentral Park township, known as 'Ribbon of Life'.
Urban Park will also be able to host wellness classes, family-friendly activities and even educational programmes in partnership with local schools.
'More than just natural scenery and a green space, Urban Park will be a community meeting point,' said Ling.
'With this ease of access, we hope to encourage more people to embrace the natural beauty existing here within the city.
'We believe that great communities are not merely built with bricks and roads, but with shared spaces that invite people to come together, creating bonds that last.'