ONCE an estate, Bukit Jalil has turned into one of the most sought-after neighbourhoods thanks to catalytic developments, such as the National Sports Complex (NSC) and the 18-hole Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort.
A suburb of Kuala Lumpur, development activities in the area started in 1992.
The NSC, the largest sporting venue in Malaysia, was built by United Engineers Malaysia Bhd (UEM) for the 16th Commonwealth Games, which was hosted by Malaysia in 1998.
It comprised five stadiums, the National Sports Council’s headquarters, the Bukit Jalil Sports School and parks.
UEM also built three condominium blocks known as Vista Komanwel to house the games’ officials and contestants from participating countries.
The high-density project, also known as Athletes Village, once ended up as a ghost town when the Commonwealth Games was over.
The situation, however, changed when developers like Berjaya Land Bhd (BLand) and Bukit Jalil City Sdn Bhd came in and slowly started buying up land in the area.
The first development by BLand was Bukit Jalil Golf & Country Resort, and this prompted many more players to venture in Bukit Jalil as they anticipated demand for houses to increase.
The entry of higher education institutions, such as the International Medical University (IMU) and Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), helped boost demand for properties in the area.
It also gained from major improvement in the infrastructure.
Bukit Jalil today is linked to other parts of the Klang Valley via the Damansara-Puchong Expressway and the Puchong-Sungai Besi Highway. It is also accessible via the Shah Alam Expressway, Maju Expressway, and the New Pantai Expressway.
The quaint suburb is also served by a light rail transit (LRT) line, with two stations — Bukit Jalil LRT station and Sri Petaling LRT station.
When the Commonwealth Games ended in 1998, there was another hiccup. The conditions of the stadiums in the NSC started to become an eyesore.
In 2015, Malaysian Resources Corp Bhd (MRCB) was awarded a RM1.6 billion contract to rejuvenate the NSC in two phases, and transform it into a new sports city that could rival Singapore’s iconic Sports Hub.
MRCB completed Phase One in time to host the 2017 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games. It involved refurbishing, renovating and upgrading the National Stadium, Putra Stadium (now renamed Axiata Arena), the hockey stadium and the aquatic centre.
This phase was crucial in creating KL Sports City — a fully-integrated sports hub that consists of new, world-class infrastructure, including high-performance sports training facilities, a sports rehabilitation science centre, youth park, public sports facilities, sports museum, youth hostel, convention centre and a sports-focused retail mall.
Sumber: New Straits Times