Putrajaya was the idea of Malaysia's forth Prime Minister, Tun Dr. Mahathir Mohamad. In the 1980s, he thought of having a federal administration centre outside Kuala Lumpur. It was a very good idea to reduce the traffic of Kuala Lumpur apart from making it easier for foreign VIP to get to meeting places especially with the Prime Minister.

In 1993, the Cabinet approved Prang Besar in Sepang as the site for this project which was projected to cost about RM20.9 billion. The name was changed to Putrajaya in honour of Malaysia's first Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra.

In 1996, Tun Dr. Mahathir did the ground breaking ceremony for the Government Precinct. In 1997, he launched Putrajaya as a city in Putra World Trade Centre. After 3 years, in 1999, it was occupied by a few Government departments. For example, the National Security Department and the Prime Ministers Department. On 23-Jun-1999, Putrajaya Federal Government Administration Centre held its first Cabinet Meeting.

In 2000, an amended Constitutional Law 2000 was passed to make Putrajaya a Federal Territory. In 01-Feb-2001, Tun Dr. Mahathir officially declared Putrajaya as Malaysia's third Federal Territory in Perdana Square.

Putrajaya Intelligent City is a symbol of the success of Malaysia. It integrated traditional design with Islam giving lots of attention to conservation of eco-system, encouraging an active lifestyle and caring society. This city has no high rise building.