Melaka Gateway

Artist depiction of Melaka Gateway upon completion.
Melaka Gateway logo.
Logo of KAJ Development Sdn Bhd, developer of Melaka Gateway.

Melaka Gateway[a] (Chinese: 马六甲皇京港; pinyin: Mǎliùjiǎ huáng jīng gǎng; lit. 'Malacca Royal Capital Harbour') is an off-shore development of artificial islands in Malacca, Malaysia. It was launched on 7 February 2014 by Malaysia's Prime Minister, Dato' Seri Najib Bin Tun Abdul Razak, witnessed by Malacca Chief Minister Idris Haron. It was expected to be open in 2018 and finished completely by 2025.[1] The project was planned to consist of four artificial islands including Melaka Island and one adjacent natural island – Panjang Island, with mixed residential and commercial development, leisure-cum-tourism amenities, free-trade zone, port and industrial zone.[2] However, a series of obstacles led to the project scaled down to only Melaka Island alone with a cruise terminal.[3]

In November 2020, the project was reported as scrapped by the State government.[4][5][6] Malaccan Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali was quoted as saying the Melaka Gateway project will not be abandoned but will be taken over by a new developer saying "The development will continue, but we have some technical issues that we need to fix."[7]

KAJ Development Sdn Bhd (abbreviated as KAJD, Chinese: 凯杰发展有限公司; pinyin: Kǎi jié fāzhǎn yǒuxiàn gōngsī) remains the master developer of the project.[8][9]

As of February 2022, the project has resumed the development of its first island – Pulau Melaka East 1 (PME1), after receiving approval from the State Government through an agreement signed on 23 February. [10]

Reactions

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In 2017, Chief Minister of Malacca, Idris Haron said he was serious in developing the state into a nautical gem of this region and could no longer tolerate any hiatus in proposed development projects laid by interested developers.[11] The Kristang community at the Portuguese Settlement however said that they were not consulted by this project. The Portuguese community has been protesting the project ever since they found out about it. In May 2018, 200 villagers participated in a demonstration outside of the KAJ Development's office.[12]

China's then-Minister of Transport, H.E. Yang Chuantang said: "With Malacca as the forefront flagship in support of the One Belt, One Road program initiated by the People's Republic of China, we will soon taste the fruits of success, especially with the plans for infrastructure,...China is confident in Melaka Gateway's project."[12]

Forbes described Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad as the "strongest opponent of Melaka Gateway".[12] Mahathir said of the project "We are very concerned because in the first place we don’t need any extra harbor."[13]

The chief executive of KAJ reacted to the cancellation saying that KAJ were contemplating taking legal action against the state saying "We are left with no choice. Our project is canceled after we spent millions of our own resources to conduct various environmental studies and pay licensing fees."[7] In December 2020, the company filed a judicial review challenging the termination notice issued by the Malacca State Government.[14] In February 2021, the judicial review was dismissed by the court.[15]

In March 2023, Transport Minister Anthony Loke announced that the project may be revived in discussions with the State government.[16]

Return

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Melaka Gateway’s return is marked by new investors, shareholders and team, and the resumption of construction of the Melaka International Cruise Terminal (MICT). [17]

In March 2022, KAJD signed a Memorandum of understanding with the Dubai Integrated Economic Zones Authority to collaborate on the investment and operations of the free trade zone on the project’s first island (PME1).[18] The first MoA was exchanged between KAJD and MG Velocity Sdn Bhd, X Infinity Property Sdn Bhd and Total Group Bhd for the development of the MICT on PME1.[19] The second MoA was exchanged between KAJD and Assetwall Sdn Bhd for the development of a theme park on PME1.[20]

In March 2023, it was announced that the Sultan of Johor is the second largest shareholder of the project.[21]

On 20 June 2023, Dato’ Mircle Yap was appointed as the Independent Non-Executive Director of KAJD and Non-Executive Advisor of the project.[22]

On 12 September 2023, the project is back on track, following support and approvals from the state and federal governments.[23]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Project uses the Malay language spelling of the state's name, as opposed to the more traditional English language spelling of its name, "Malacca"

References

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  1. ^ "RM40b Malacca Gateway to open doors in 2018". Thesundaily.my. Retrieved 9 November 2014.
  2. ^ Melaka Gateway 2018 Archived Website
  3. ^ Tham Siew Yean (15 February 2024). "The Return of Melaka Gateway: Scaled-down Ambitions". fulcrum.sg.
  4. ^ Hazlin Hassan (2020-11-20). "Controversial Melaka port project scrapped by state govt". Straits Times. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  5. ^ Lee Hong Liang (2020-11-23). "Malaysia scraps mega port project off Melaka". Seatrade Maritime News. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  6. ^ Sebastian Strangio (2020-11-19). "In Malaysia, a Gargantuan Chinese-Backed Development Bites the Dust". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  7. ^ a b P PREM KUMAR (2020-12-03). "Canceled $10.5bn Malaysia port project plays down China role". Nikkei Asia. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  8. ^ "Melaka Gateway secures 5 foreign investors". www.thesundaily.my. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  9. ^ "Melaka cruise terminal project to be revived, says Transport Minister". The Star. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  10. ^ "KAJ DEVELOPMENT RESUMES MELAKA GATEWAY PROJECT". BERNAMA. 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  11. ^ "Chief Minister serious in developing Malacca". Archived from the original on 2017-02-02.
  12. ^ a b c Wade Shepard (2020-01-30). "Inside The Belt And Road's Premier White Elephant: Melaka Gateway". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  13. ^ Hannah Beech (2018-08-20). "'We Cannot Afford This': Malaysia Pushes Back Against China's Vision". New York Times. Retrieved 2021-11-29.
  14. ^ KIRAT KAUR (2020-12-15). "Melaka Gateway Sues State Government For Terminating Project". The Rakyat Post. Retrieved 2021-11-24.
  15. ^ Hafiz Yatim (2021-02-17). "Melaka Gateway developer fails to challenge state's directive to halt project". The Edge Markets. Retrieved 2021-11-25.
  16. ^ "Anthony Loke: MOT, Melaka govt in discussions to continue Melaka International Cruise Terminal project". The Edge Markets. Bernama. 5 March 2023. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  17. ^ "KAJ DEVELOPMENT RESUMES MELAKA GATEWAY PROJECT". BERNAMA. 2022-08-03. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  18. ^ "KAJ Secures Investors Melaka Gateway Mega Project".
  19. ^ "KAJ Development Inks MoU Exchanges MoA with Investors in Dubai".
  20. ^ "Melaka Gateway Developer Inks MoU MoA for PME1 Megaproject".
  21. ^ "Johor sultan now Melaka Gateway's second largest shareholder". Malaysiakini. 2023-03-08. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  22. ^ Ignatius, Cynthia (2023-06-20). "Dato' Mircle Yap Joins KAJ Development As Non-Executive Director - BusinessToday". Business Today. Retrieved 2023-08-11.
  23. ^ "Melaka Gateway advances with new Investors, shareholders, and dynamic leadership". theSun. 2023-09-11. Retrieved 2023-09-11.
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2°10′44″N 102°15′21″E / 2.1790°N 102.2557°E / 2.1790; 102.2557

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