[ad_1]
COMMENTARY | In 2014, the then Chief Minister of Malacca, Idris Haron, presented the Melaka Gateway project as “a green project that will have many green buildings and that will boost tourism as it will be in harmony with nature.”
The Melaka Gateway will be a 1,500 acre project consisting of 12 precincts. It would have a deep port facility, tourist eco-parks, heritage walks and luxury residences.
The project would be built in accordance with the environmental sustainability guidelines of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The developers marketed it as “the most sustainable development to attract investment in Asia.”
The Melaka Gateway was just one of Malaysia’s urban mega-projects that are regularly rated green, green and sustainable. Despite the claims, the area’s development process has often taken a heavy toll on the environment and surrounding communities.
Megaprojects and infrastructure, especially focused on transport, have been a key feature in the administrations of the Malaysian strongmen. It is part of a global trend of urban development “technologically and environmentally sound” …
