Kota Kinabalu’s RM300 million smart city project targets February 2028 completion
The project includes fibre networks, public Wi-Fi, 822 poles and 1,696 CCTV cameras, with MCMC funding operations for five years after development.
A smart city programme costing about RM300 million is under way in Kota Kinabalu, with completion expected in February 2028, Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching said. The infrastructure is intended to help the city manage public services, traffic and safety using real-time information.
Speaking after visiting the command centre development site on October 11, Teo said work began on August 6. Kota Kinabalu City Hall (DBKK) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are jointly implementing the project with Universal Service Provision (USP) funding.
Plans cover a fibre-optic backbone spanning 50 kilometres and a last-mile network extending 308 kilometres, alongside public Wi-Fi. The programme also includes 822 smart and multi-purpose poles, plus 1,696 CCTV cameras across the area administered by DBKK.
The former Kota Kinabalu Magistrates’ Court building will house the Network Operations Command Centre (NOCC). An adjacent data centre is being developed with 120 kilowatts (kW) of capacity and another 30 kW held in reserve. Teo said backup power would support uninterrupted operations.
Renovations to the command centre building and construction of the data centre are expected to take six months. DBKK personnel would then receive training and knowledge transfer to prepare them to operate the system.
According to Teo, MCMC will pay the infrastructure’s operating expenses for five years following the two-year development phase, before transferring the whole facility to DBKK. She said public Wi-Fi was also intended to improve connectivity and support local businesses.
