Property Hunter Magazine August Issue 2014 | Page 22
/// Hot Topic
Northern Corridor of Kota Kinabalu
/// HOT TOPIC
Commercial and residential properties are filling up both sides of Jalan Sulaman heading north of the city
I
f you look at the population
growth of suburban Kota
Kinabalu over the last decade
or so, you will see that a large
percentage of it has occurred
north of the city. The steady pace
of development has transformed
the once rustic countryside into
clusters of small and medium sized
industries and residential areas
targeting the lower- and middleincome groups that make up a
sizeable number of the population
here.
Population growth, job growth
and development have followed
this pathway to the north and
22
www.PropertyHunter.com.my
out from the urban core of Kota
Kinabalu. While the city centre
continues its trajectory of becoming
a waterfront city with a host of
modern facilities to cater to its
financial, service and tourism-related
industries, the northern corridor
has been earmarked to fulfil its
predetermined role as the industrial
centre of Kota Kinabalu.
Several factors have contributed
to the exponential growth of the
northern corridor as compared to
the southern corridor which had
been handpicked for several mega
projects that unfortunately did not
come to fruition. The relocation and
construction of a new international
airport and seaport in Kimanis were
shelved due to geographical and
logistical reasons. The eventual
construction of the deep-sea
container port at Sepanggar Bay
in the northern corridor, coupled
with the implementation of one the
biggest state-owned industrialisation
projects in Sabah would signal a
change in strategy and focus in the
expansion of the city’s boundaries.
A New Age Of Industrialisation
And Development
The 8,320 acre Kota Kinabalu
Industrial Park (KKIP) was launched
in 1995 and has played a pivotal role
in the development of the northern
corridor. As of 2013, it has been
reported that around 6,300 job
opportunities have been created
from a total of 232 factories and
plants that are operating in the
area. Investment value in various
industry clusters, mainly small and
medium industries (SMIs), has
already breached the RM2 billion
mark and the spill-over effect has
created a convincing uptrend in
the development of residential
properties, retail shops, food and
beverage outlets, finance services
and other business activities to
meet the demands of the increased
populace in the area.