environment
BY LIYANA ZAINOL
Melaka Gateway:
Transforming the Straits of Malacca
A
s home to one
of Malaysia’s
two UNESCO-
inscribed Heritage
Cities, the
state of Melaka
is currently
undertaking a
massive development known as Melaka
Gateway. The project is a joint venture
between local and foreign investors who
are reclaiming land from the Straits of
Malacca to construct a group of artificial
islands. The project was launched by
the former Prime Minister in 2014 and is
expected to be completed in 2025. This
project is being carried out in the hopes of
reviving Melaka, which was once known
for the glory of its maritime trade during
the period of the Malaccan Sultanate.
Melaka Gateway promises opulent
residential living, as well as a flourishing
economic trade which will attract both
foreign business magnates and job seekers
from within Malaysia. In fact, according
to the CEO for the deep sea project’s
developer KAJ Development Sdn Bhd
(KAJ), the Melaka Gateway would create
more opportunities for employment, with
possibly 45,000 to 60,000 new jobs made
available.A MASSIVE UNDERTAKING
Consisting of four islands, Melaka
Gateway is set to be the biggest port in
Southeast Asia. Two of the four islands
will comprise a dedicated tourism and
economic zone, while the remaining two
will mainly be for the maritime industry,
including the Melaka International
Cruise Terminal (MICT), set to be ready by
September 2020. Recently, however, news
about the expected completion of the
MICT shed some light upon the continuity
of this project. It’s safe to say that this
RM43 billion project has been going
through some turbulent moments which
have led to questions concerning theviability of the project, from the developer
involved to issues surrounding the socio-
economic status of locals who are being
affected by this mega-project.It’s no secret that KAJ has gone through
ups and downs during its lengthy
construction business. The company’s
affiliation with the previous government
in launching the mega-project saw the
company attract large investment interests
from three Chinese companies. With
the shocking 2018 ouster of the Barisan
National coalition government, KAJ
suddenly found itself having to appeal to
the current Pakatan Harapan government,
which has canceled or renegotiated a
number of major projects that had been
previously undertaken, to not discontinue
their involvement with the project. As
with many other large-scale developments
around the country, the intervention of the
current government has been impactful,
and, in some cases, disruptive. In the case