Government offices in Puchong : EPF / KWSP

Do you know that there is a EPF office in Puchong?  You will see a  mini signboard as you turn into Tesco Pusat Bandar Puchong.  It's on the row of shops fronting the road as you turn into Tesco.

The address is
No.19,  Jalan Bandar Lapan Belas,
Pusat Bandar Puchong,
47160 Puchong, Selangor.
Nombor Faks : 03-80769649

Office hours  8.15 am - 4.45 pm  Monday to Friday

Very convenient for Puchong residents.

 I checked my EPF balance and applied for the 1Malaysia Retirement Scheme, all within 10 minutes of arrival.   Cool!  

New! TGV cinema in Setiawalk Puchong

Tanjung Golden Village (TGV) opened a new cinema in SetiaWalk Puchong.  The new cinema uses the latest Digital 3D cinema projection, instead of film projection, so you can watch 3D movies right here in Puchong
 
TGV Setiawalk has 8 cinema halls, and one BeaniePlex (with beanbags).

Highway Tolls in Puchong

Is the existence of tolls in Puchong deterring you from setting up home in Puchong? 

15 years ago, we don't have to pay tolls for travelling in and out of Puchong. The main road to use to visit your friends in Puchong is via Jalan Puchong which starts from the instersection with Old Klang Road.  Jalan Puchong is now a busy road, branching out to many residential areas along the way, such as Taman Kinrara, Bandar Kinrara, Bandar Puchong Jaya and Pusat Bandar Puchong. 

There are currently 700,000 people making Puchong their home. The toll concessionaire sure do make lots of money from us.  The tolled road gives the connectivity to the residents

The highways that serves Puchong area are as follows:



 LDP

The LDP - the Lebuhraya Damansara-Puchong Expressway connects Puchong with Petaling Jaya. The LDP highway is managed by LITRAK with 4 toll plazas along the route.  Motorists from Puchong will have to pay RM3.20  for a two-way trip to Sunway & Petaling Jaya.

The LDP is a busy expressway, as it passes through populated areas such as Puchong, PJ and Damansara.

Image taken from the LITRAK website



KESAS highway

The Shah Alam Expressway (KESAS) highway is the expressway that links Sri Petaling to Seafield, and then to Pandamaran in Klang, with 4 toll stations located at KESAS highway.

The KESAS highway shortens traveling time from Puchong to neighbouring Subang, and it comes with a price tag of  RM4.40 for a two-way trip from Puchong to Subang or Kota Kemuning.

Image taken from KESAS website



NPE

The New Pantai Expressway (NPE) provides an uninterrupted link between Subang Jaya and  the Kuala Lumpur -Seremban Highway.    It links Jalan Subang Utama, Jalan Klang Lama,  Jalan Pantai Dalam and Bangsar.  The expressway does not pass through Puchong, but complements the other roads in and out of Puchong.

Image taken from NPE website


SILK Highway

The Kajang Traffic Dispersal Ring Road or the Kajang SILK highway connects the KL-Seremban PLUS highway and South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE) to the west, with BESRAYA and GRAND SAGA to the north and LEKAS to the south.

 Image taken from SILK website


Quirky take to the Puchong tolls

To avoid paying tolls, and save money on tolls, do all your business and shopping within Puchong itself.  There are hypermarkets, food joints and international schools in Puchong.  Many businesses moved to Puchong and many new businesses choose Puchong as their location.

Traffic in Puchong - latest news

With effect from Oct 6, 2012, there will be be a new express lane for those who want to travel from Puchong to Putrajaya using the Lebuhraya Damasara Puchong (LDP).

The express lane begins right after exiting the southbound toll plaza on the LDP (near Sunway). When you approach the toll plaza,  you will now need to choose between Plaza A or Plaza B.

Plaza A (on the right) is for those who want to travel towards Putrajaya and  Shah Alam,  while Plaza B (on the left side) is for those who want to go Sungai Besi, or want to turn into the Bandar Puchong Jaya business and residential areas.

Upon exiting the toll, motorists will not be able to switch lanes between Plaza A and B because barriers will be placed from the toll booths  until IOI Business Park to segregate traffic heading towards Puchong and Putrajaya.
 
This project aims to mitigate the evening peak traffic congestion at Bandar Puchong Jaya area.  But will the traffic congestion in Puchong ever be over?

When I moved into this area some 17 years ago, the traffic is bearable.  Some evenings you can see a group of cows being herded along the road from their grazing area to home somewhere in Puchong. Sometimes we find patches of cow dung on the road.  Now where are the cows?

The traffic situation in Puchong has indeed changed over the years.

Puchong is home to many hypermarkets

Do you know that there are 6 hypermarkets / supermarkets to service the Puchong population.

1. TESCO - 2 outlets.  One in Bandar Puchong Jaya, and another one in Bukit Puchong (opening in Nov 2012)

2. Carrefour - 1 outlet.  In Bandar Bukit Puchong

3. Giant - 2 outlets.  In Bandar Puteri.  Another one is in Bandar Kinrara

4. AEON -1 outlet. In IOI Mall in Puchong Jaya

Which one is your favourite shopping place?

And they are quite near to each other!  

Another international school in Puchong

In case you are keeping score, there is another international school that is being built in this wonderful city of Puchong, specifically in BP: Newtown, near Bandar Bukit Puchong.

Taylor's International  School will be in the locality of BP: Newtown, and will be opened in Jan 2015, according to its website. It will follow the British curriculum.

Things are getting interesting in Puchong.

New! International School in Puchong

Good news for Puchong Residents.  Come 2013 you will be able to enrol your children into international school.  And in 2014, your children can also enrol in private school for primary students.Start registering your children!. 

The schools are to be located at 16 Sierra Puchong.  The schools are setup by Rafflesia Education Group, and will have a built-up area of about 200,000 sq ft. They can take in about 1,100 students.

The Rafflesia International School will follow the British National Curriculum, and will have programs for Nursery & Preschool (Ages 3 to 5 Years) right up to Cambridge Secondary 2 (Ages 14 to 16 Years).

The private primary school, called Sekolah Rendah Rafflesia, will follow the  Malaysian KSSR curriculum.  It will offer Mathematics and Science subjects to be taught in English (something that the national schools and national-type schools  are not allowed to do). 

Some interesting facts about international schools in Malaysia..  Currently, there are 70 international schools, with total enrolment of 27,000 students. By year 2020 the Ministry of Education expects the total enrolment to increase to 75,000 students.

The boom in international students will come mostly from (affluent) local Malaysians who can afford the high school fees.    In early 2012, the Malaysian government education abolish the 40% quota for locals to enrol in international  schools, making it possible for international schools to increase their intake of  local students,

So are you going to start pre-registering your child for the private or international schools in Puchong?

Source : website