The real estate market is greatly benefiting from rail projects such as the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line, said Prasarana Malaysia President and Group CEO Datuk Seri Azmi Abdul Aziz in a report by the New Straits Times.

"Property prices are expected to appreciate by between 10 and 20 percent because of the MRT project. In fact, some areas are already seeing their property value go up.”

Aside from driving up property prices, the construction of rail lines enhances the living standards of a large segment of the urban population.

"Rail projects tend to create new jobs and business opportunities. The completion of the Sungai-Buloh Kajang MRT Line 1 will draw buyers to areas closer to the MRT stations. There are 31 stations along MRT Line 1 so you can imagine the kind of growth would take place.”

He noted that rail infrastructure also increases the value of the land, and more people want to live within the areas it serves.

"What was not visible before, will now become more visible and both developers and house buyers will go there" Azmi explained, adding that commercial properties like hotels, malls, retail spaces and offices would also benefit from the better connectivity.

Notably, phase II of MRT Line 1, which runs from Semantan to Kajang, commenced operations last Monday (17 July). Phase II from Sungai Buloh to Semantan started operating in December 2016.

According to Azmi, the first and second phase of MRT Line 1 will make ongoing projects in Kuala Lumpur more sought-after like the KL118, KL Sentral transport hub in Brickfields and the Tun Razak Exchange (TRX).

"If you are travelling in the MRT, you can see several developments being carried out along the corridors. There are also some plots of land ready for redevelopment and we can expect developers to start building there. Some may have been waiting for the MRT Line 1 to complete before their launch.”

"We expect all existing and new developments will help to increase traffic on the MRT. Since Phase 1 opened to the public, people have been using the MRT for all sorts of reasons from attending meetings, heading to work, shopping or just to have lunch somewhere" he added.