[ADVERTORIAL]  – COUNTRY Garden Pacificview (CGPV) Sdn Bhd, the master developer of Forest City in Johor, Malaysia, has won the Global Model of City-Industry Integration Award in the 2018 Sustainable Cities and Human Settlements Awards (SCAHSA).

It is Forest City’s third SCAHSA award in as many years, after the Global Model of Green Building Industrial Park award for the Industrialised Building System (IBS) Base last year, and the Global Human Settlements Award on Planning and Design award in 2016.

Forest City is the only representative of Malaysia to have won at the awards this year
 
The SCAHSA is a highlight of the Annual Sessions of Global Forum on Human Settlements (GFHS), held at the United Nations Conference Centre in Bangkok. The co-organisers are 
GFHS and the United Nations Economic And Social Commission For Asia and the Pacific.

Country Garden Malaysia and Forest City strategy director Ng Zhu Hann said sustainable green and smart cities such as Forest City were the future of urban development. 

“Unprecedented and rapid urbanisation poses many challenges to the world but at the same time, scientific and technological revolution presents great opportunities for urban planning and development,” he said.

“Malaysia is a diversified emerging industrial economy in Asia, therefore if industry and property developers can integrate sustainable urban development concepts into their urban planning, it will elevate Malaysia property and construction industry to an international standard.”

For a project to succeed, he said, the developer must practise social inclusion.

 “You must not only engage the government and businesses, but the local villages and communities around you. You must take care of their needs, their education, their welfare.”

To this end, the developer has built schools etc (need to look up old write up). 

Ng said 1,200 of the company’s 1,500-strong workforce Malaysians, who were engaged in senior and middle management positions.

As of September 2018, Forest City has awarded contracts worth RM1.5 billion to 150 local companies.

He said public-private partnerships that took into account the interests of the people, especially the B40 and M40 segments, were the way forward.

“Collective and shared prosperity will ensure Malaysia can once again rise to become the ‘Asian Tiger’. 

“Forest City and Country Garden will work closely with the government of Malaysia towards this goal in line with the 11th Malaysian Plan.” – November 1, 2018. 

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