Cyberjaya’s new masterplan set to weave, interlock its disparate parts

• Home to over 140k innovators/creators forming the innovative grid powering nation 
• Masterplan created with eye to ensure 3 tech clusters able to synergise with each other

Cyberjaya is a Malaysian city that has certainly changed in the 24 years of its existence. On the surface, the city which is in the state of Selangor, has indeed grown more bustling and popular. Regular visitors may be able to point out the growing number of malls and eateries, and for the non-tech enthusiast, the city’s 24-hour bookstore and lovely parks are good reasons to drop in.

The most important changes, however, are less obvious to the eyes. Cyberjaya is now home to more than 140,000 innovators and creators, part of about 400 MSC-status entities – including multinational companies, government agencies and GLCs – all forming the innovative grid powering progress in the country.

Here is also where more than 400 successful startups have been nurtured, while serving as grounds for a robust talent pool created by the city’s seven universities and colleges.

Yet it is a city that has remained steadfastly unchanged in its goals and ideals. Cyberjaya was born with the goal of being the country’s nucleus of the Multimedia Super Corridor (MSC) and the centre of innovation. Whether it succeeded or not depends on who you ask, but there’s no doubting its position as a technology hub of the country.

Now, 24 years since its inception, Cyberjaya is at the cusp of massive change. Last year, Cyberview Sdn Bhd – the company mandated by the government to catalyse Cyberjaya’s development – unveiled the city’s new masterplan, a next phase of growth to turn the city into a holistic tech ecosystem.

The Cyberjaya Masterplan

Southern Cyberjaya has been dedicated as the foreground of the new masterplan, with the anchorage of three carefully selected technology clusters: Smart Mobility, Smart Healthcare, and Digital Creative. Plans are set for this part of the city to house an integrated smart healthcare development, envisioned to be an intertwining web of various healthcare facilities and businesses that can work together. For instance, CryoCord, a leading stem cell banking facility in Malaysia has been based in Cyberjaya for the past 18 years and could potentially become a significant catalyst in the healthcare segment under the Cyberjaya masterplan.

Talks are also underway between Cyberview and industry players as well as enablers, to further ignite the growth of advanced technology in the area of mobility. These parties include names like Aerodyne and Malaysia Automotive Robotics and IoT Institute (MARii).

Cyberjaya has been famed with an established community of digital content creators, many of which are graduates of Multimedia University (MMU). This institution has been recognised to nurture and produce many talents within this space, leading to the formation of homegrown brand names like WAU Animation, whose movie Ejen Ali: The Movie topped as #1 in the local box office in 2019. Joining them in this sphere are Monsta and Digital Durian, who are making waves globally too.

“We foresee collaboration and assistance offered to this industry to be further enhanced under the masterplan. Not only that, their products and innovations could potentially be utilised in the areas of mobility and healthcare. When the masterplan was developed, we also made sure that the three tech clusters will be able to synergise with one another in the Cyberjaya ecosystem,” explains Roni Shah Mustapha (pic), Head of Business, City and Communications Division at Cyberview.  

A Collaborative Environment

“The Collaboration Campus (main pic) is an existing designated area in the south zone which will become the initial iteration of this innovation district, featuring all three tech clusters (Smart Mobility, Smart Healthcare, and Digital Creative) in a single location. With various ecosystem components all in the same area, collaborative and complementary activities will be spurred among each other,” explains Roni.

The Collaboration Campus is also Cyberview’s home base, neighboured by its subsidiary, Futurise that oversees the National Regulatory Sandbox (NRS). The campus offers physical space for companies to test their innovations and under the NRS, regulatory processes are fast-tracked. This is evident through the implementation of the Drone Testing Zone (DTZ) and the country’s first public road testbed for autonomous vehicles, the Cyberjaya Malaysia Autonomous Vehicle (MyAV) Testing Route – all located within the campus.  

Another important component is the 5G Open Lab located at RekaScape. Cyberview had partnered with Digi for the launch of this lab in 2019, which ever since, has been instrumental for innovators and academics in testing out their solutions and products using 5G network. Usage of the 5G network is becoming increasingly relevant, especially with the government’s announcement of its rollout by year end in specified locations, which includes Cyberjaya.

“The Collaboration Campus is positioned to be a catalyst in attracting other companies and innovators from the three tech clusters, ahead of the operationalisation of the South Innovation District. In fact, we are already garnering interest from various parties to join the ecosystem,” adds Roni.

The south zone will be supported by the northern and western districts. In the north, the Cyberjaya City Centre (CCC) development is designed to be the focal point of the city, as a global urban-tech landmark for Cyberjaya.

“Land surrounding the CCC will inevitably encourage healthy commercial, retail and enterprise activities. This will be boosted with the completion of an MRT station nearby. Currently, the area is primed to be a transit-oriented development, with multiple major projects to be executed in the locality,” says Roni.    

West Cyberjaya will focus on nurturing talent and community development; and Downtown Cyberjaya, the retail and commercial hub for the city. The idea is for each zone and industry to become part of a contained ecosystem. Talent from West Cyberjaya, for instance, can move into working with the entities within the city. Products from South Cyberjaya can be implemented across Downtown Cyberjaya, which serves as a zone for pilot projects.

“Getting the right infrastructure available is vital,” says Roni. “For instance, 90% of the country’s co-located data centres are located in Cyberjaya – not only due to the fact that we are a tech hub that supports digitalisation, but also due to its complete infrastructure such as the provision of dark fibre and the redundancy in terms of power supply.”

He emphasises, “This is coupled with an added advantage possessed by Cyberview. The company’s role as the custodian for the development of Cyberjaya and its close relations with the government has allowed more room and access for progress to take place.”

Tomorrow: Pt 2 Drive development of Malaysia's Digital Creative industry into a world-class community